When Legends Collide
by LadySorrow
Summary: Lilianna, also known as Snow White meets Jareth, King of the Goblins. It's a crossover, but a good one. It's FINISHED!!!
1. Rain

When Legends Collide  
  
Summary: Lilianna, the heroine from Snow White a Tale of Terror confronts Jareth's Labyrinth from the movie Labyrinth, what ensues is drama, heartache, adventure, danger, and even love.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or Snow White a Tale of Terror. Anything else that doesn't sound familiar is mine though.  
  
As Lily startled into consciousness, her surroundings unfamiliar, she could feel tiny raindrops slowly soaking her clothes and skin. The cold, light rain chilled her to the bone as she lay on the cold, damp forest floor. Standing slowly, trying to shake off her drowsiness, she pulled and brushed the leaves from her hair and mud stained burgundy dress. Looking about herself, she realized that this forest was different. Different in that the trees glittered. Upon closer examination, she discovered they were in fact covered with a light coat of glitter.  
  
She gulped, fear almost overtaking her. Lilianna wasn't one to usually be frightened, but she had been through a lot in the past 36 hours. Deciding that standing around wasn't doing her any good, she took off at a slow jog through the strange forest, her destination unknown. She came to a crossroads in the dirt path that she had been following, made a quick decision, and took the one leading her straight on into more forest.  
  
Continuing her jog, she realized the trees started to thin out, and with it the rain ceased to fall, and soon she had come upon a desert of red sand. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but since she had no other choice, jogged through it, too. Then, out of nowhere, a tree appeared. This tree had no leaves and looked rather sickly, but it, too, was covered with the strange glitter that had plagued the trees in the forest. The tree overlooked a hill of red sand.  
  
Of course, all this was in the back of her mind as she stared at the huge maze ahead of her. The massive structure loomed out in the distance, seemingly swallowing the land it covered whole. She couldn't see anything beyond it, and to the east and west of it, either. It, too, seemed to glitter with the strange substance, and as the early morning sun started to rise, it cast strange and eerie shadows about it. It was beautiful and frightening all at the same time.  
  
Her feet seemed to carry her on their own accord to the gates guarding the entrance to the first brick section of the structure. The gates looked rather large and heavy, and she wondered warily how she was going to get them to open. She felt like cursing and kicking something, but instead did the mature thing and looked on the ground for some kind of stick to pry them open. Of course, there wasn't a stick to be found anywhere. Cursing her luck, she said aloud, "I wish these gates would just open." Creeeeeak. Bang! The gates opened slowly, then banged into the walls at its sides.  
  
She blinked, closed her mouth that had been hanging open in astonishment, and walked up to the entrance, looked about, then ran through the gates, expecting them to close and crush her to death. Only after she had made it through did they close quickly, blocking her way out. "Hey!" she cried indignantly. Now how was she supposed to get out? 


	2. Strange Strangers

Hi, I just wanted to let everyone that's read and reviewed that I really appreciate it. This is only my second time posting anything on FF.net, so bare with me. So, here's the next chapter…  
  
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The only way from there were two seemingly endless corridors, one leading left, and the other right. Brick walls glittered dangerously all about her, blocking most of the light out overhead. Being right handed, she chose the corridor leading that direction. She walked down it, passing a little blue worm in the process. "Allo! Wouldn't you like to come inside for a nice cup of tea!" the worm shouted to her. She whirled, looked around, but didn't see anyone and called out, "Who's there?" "Me!" the worm cried, frustrated.  
  
On a whim, Lily looked down, and spotted a blue thing out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head to look at the creature fully, she discovered it was indeed a worm, wearing a little red scarf. It seemed to be perched on an outcropping of brick protruding from the wall. "Sorry, I didn't see you down there," Lily apologized, and squatted down closer to the floor so she could see this queer little worm better. "It's all right. Now, would you like a nice cup of tea, lass?" the worm asked politely. "No thank you. Could you possibly tell me where I am? I woke in a forest and I've no idea how I got there. By the way, I'm Lily, but my friends call me Snow White."  
  
"Blimey! You're THE Snow White! I heard about you from a couple of dwarves. Nasty buggers they are. I'm William the Worm. It seems you're in the Labyrinth, center of the Underground." "It's very nice to meet you William. I hate to be rude, but I have to find a way to make it back home. Do you know of any one who could possibly help me?" Lily questioned. "Oh, well that would be the Goblin King of course," William stated as if it was common knowledge. Lily hesitated, then asked, "Who's the Goblin King?" "He's the ruler of this land. Only person with magic close to here."  
  
"Where can I find him?" "At the castle of the center of the Labyrinth," William said. Lily nodded, but was still confused. "So, this maze, this Labyrinth, he lives at the center of it?" Lily asked just to make sure. "Cor, that's what I just said. In a big castle populated by goblins. They are worse than dwarves I tell you. Now, to get to the castle, walk through the opening in the wall across from you, and just follow your instincts. I can't believe I'm talking to THE Snow White. Wait till I tell the Misses."  
  
"Right. Thanks for your help," she said as she stood, and walked through the wall across from her. At first, though, she was sure she was going smack into the brick wall, but the opening made itself clear after a couple of steps. Turning to the left she heard the worm shout something, but shrugged and kept going figuring that he was just shouting goodbye. Pondering what the worm had said about her being THE Snow White, she almost ran into a white stone wall that she could've sworn wasn't there before.  
  
Puzzled by the change, her dark perfectly arched eyebrows drew together in confusion. Lily turned to be confronted by another wall in her path. Frustrated, she let out a deep breath and pushed on the wall testing its solidity. It held fast. She turned around once again, and wall that had stopped her first wasn't there anymore. Lily blinked, then rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her. They weren't. This place must be changing she concluded, but didn't let that stop her trek.  
  
After coming to many different sections of the maze, and seeing many odd but fascinating creatures, she had come upon a part maze made of shrub. It was a change, not an improvement, but a difference in scenery that was refreshing to Lily. More of the sky was visible this way, too, and everything didn't feel so dark and foreboding.  
  
Lily came to a section of the maze where it turned into forest, forest that was glittery like the one she had woken up in but it was dimmer somehow. This forest had no path to follow, so she just wandered along aimlessly, hoping that by some miracle that she was actually making it closer to the castle, which appeared to be at least a day's journey away.  
  
Tossing her long, dark brown hair over her shoulders in determination, she squared them and hoped nothing in this forest liked to eat virgins. Not that she was worried about dying; she just felt it would ruin her day. Smoke appeared in the distance, barely visible from the lack of sunlight, so Lily followed to where the smoke appeared to be coming from. It led her to a shack, more of a bungalow type cottage, smoke coming out of the chimney.  
  
It was made of wood, crudely assembled with a thatched roof. Crudely whittled machinery that matched the cottage littered the yard in the front and back of the house. She approached warily, not sure what to expect. The door to the shack swung open suddenly and a short burly man with a long white beard stomped out in a huff. "Damn you, woman, why must you persecute me with your constant griping? Can't you see I'm trying to work!" the man yelled through the open door over his shoulder.  
  
A gruff feminine voice yelled back just as vexed, "Well, maybe I would leave you alone if you would actually do something productive, dirt for brains!" Lily wasn't sure what to make of it, and she also wasn't sure whether to ask for help or run away in the other direction. She decided the latter was rather cowardly, so timidly she walked up to the angry short man in front of her.  
  
"Excuse me, but, do you know a shortcut through these woods?" "Oh, what have we here? A shortcut, eh? Well, I wouldn't know of one. Maybe the wench does. Wench!" he called into the house door that was still open. "I'm not a wench!" the voice answered back angrily. Suddenly, quite unexpected, a beautiful young woman stormed out of the house and out into the yard where the old man and Lily were. The girl had long curly golden hair and dark brown eyes.  
  
The girl grabbed the old man by the ear and yelled at him, "Call me a wench again you old goat and I'll chop off your…hello dear, how can I help you?" she questioned Lily. Lily smiled and said, "Hello, I was just wondering if you might know a shortcut through the woods. I need to get to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth, and I'm quite lost." "Why are you asking her she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed if you know what I mean," the old man whispered conspiratorially. The girl smacked him rather hard over the head, and the old man yelped in pain.  
  
"That'll teach you. As a matter of fact I do know a shortcut, don't go through the forest at all. It'll actually be shorter if you backtrack and just keep going through the maze part," the girl said. "Oh, thank you, I must be on my way. Bye," Lily said, hurriedly running away from the odd old man and the young pretty girl with a gruff voice. It was hardly fitting that a girl as pretty as the girl was to have a voice so rough.  
  
Lily shortly made it back to the hedge maze, but she was certain it was different before she had gone through the forest. Yes, the maze had definitely changed once again. She came to a section of maze that dead- ended, but a door was right on the shrub. It was very odd to see a door in a shrub, but Lily didn't think twice about it and opened it.  
  
Stepping cautiously through it, she thought she smelled what couldn't be described because she never wanted to smell anything like it again. She had actually found a door that led to the Bog of Eternal Stench, except she didn't know what it was called, but she was smart enough to figure out it was not a place she wanted to be. Deciding to back track again, she turned and found the hedge maze gone.  
  
In its place was a garden, a very lovely garden with flowers that looked rather foreign to her. Lily didn't dare pick any flowers, she had read too many horror stories where you have to pay for what you take, and this world was probably one of those places. So, she bent down and smelled a few, but only a few, not wanting to waste any time. She stood and left the garden, but looked back longingly, wishing she could stay there. She also knew she had to get back home. Duty called.  
  
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! 


	3. Goblins

Thank you to my few readers for reviewing! I really, really, really, really, really, really, really appreciate it! Well, with that said here's chapter 3. And keep those reviews a coming!  
  
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The lovely garden faded into what appeared to be walls of glass. She was baffled by this change at first, and almost ran into the clear material, but soon she became accustomed to walking with her hands out in front of her. It was precarious and confusing work. Lily was annoyed many times just trying to make it out of this section, her handprints on the mirror- like surface were proof as she had smacked and punched many walls in frustration. Never let it be said that she was a patient person. A couple of hours and many handfuls of hair later, Lily finally made it out of that transparent nightmare.  
  
The next section of maze she came to looked suspiciously like the brick one she had encountered at the beginning. Thinking it was just to throw people off track, she continued as if it was normal. Getting nowhere fast, she was starting to think her theory was wrong, and that she was indeed back at the beginning. Sighing and feeling as if she was going to tear up, she sank to the ground in exhaustion. All she wanted was to get home, but now that daunting task didn't seem so appealing anymore. Maybe she was meant to never make it home. Maybe this was some sick twist of fate.  
  
Instead of breaking down and being weak, Lily's father's voice could be heard in her head, it told her not to give up, and to be strong. Her mother's voice was next; telling Lily's father how strong her baby was going to be right before she was born. How she could've ever heard her mother's voice she didn't know, but it encouraged her nonetheless. Feeling as if she had gotten her second wind, she sprang up and started off at a quick walk past the brick. The castle appeared to be getting closer now, but she knew better than to get her hopes up. Things weren't always what they seemed here, she had learned.  
  
Again, she ended up in a part of the Labyrinth that appeared familiar, the stone part. The white stones were more comforting than the brick, which was odd. Maybe because the walls weren't as tall, so it didn't feel as if she was being swallowed. Lily shook her head absently to get rid of such dark thoughts. 'Since when have I become a pessimist?' she asked herself. Heaps of junk became visible in her line of vision. It was the only clear path from there to the castle, even if it was unpleasant. At this point, Lily didn't really care. She was tired, and was probably an eyesore all ready, so a little trash wouldn't really put her out any. Lily picked her way carefully through the waste, careful not to disturb any of the junk people lurking about.  
  
The gates to the Goblin City, only she didn't know what they were at first, loomed ahead, dark and rather impressive. She wasn't sure how tall they were, having nothing to compare them to except maybe a tree. As well as being tall, the gates looked heavy, too. She came to notice a guard asleep by the gates, and deciding it couldn't hurt, she woke him up. "Excuse me, sir, how do you open these gates?" Lily asked. The guard shrugged rather noncommittally, and fell back asleep, which was obvious from the awful noise his snoring made. Hurt by the lack of attention by the guard, Lily thought back to how she had made the gates to the Labyrinth open. What exactly had she said?  
  
Then it came to her, "I wish these gates would open," Lily said with confidence. And sure enough, the large black gates slowly opened, and stopped once they were parallel to the walls supporting them. Lily ran through these, too, and didn't stop to look back until she was a safe distance away from them and into the city. Strange, ugly, creatures greeted her, and they were what could only be goblins. These creatures didn't make a very good impression on Lily, as they were dirty and offensive smelling. They didn't seem to be very intelligent, either. But despite all that, they were friendly, and that was all that mattered at this point.  
  
The worm was right; dwarves were better than these fellows, Lily thought, amused. Dwarves did have a nasty disposition most of the time, but once you got to know them, they weren't so bad. True, they had persecuted and made fun of her horribly at first, but in the end they had saved her life at the price of their own. Lily looked back on that memory with sadness, and put it in the back of her mind where it belonged. Right now she had to focus on a way to get these creatures to guide her the rest of the way to the castle.  
  
Sure, it looked close now, but who's to say it wouldn't be as illusive as it had been the whole way? The city was crowded with goblins, doing whatever goblins do, and Lily found it hard to move and breathe easily. The stench was overwhelming. She probably smelled just as atrociously. All the more reason to get home and take a bath. Stopping a goblin that was selling something and was at least speaking English quite well, she asked him if he could possibly guide her to the castle.  
  
"What's in it fo' me?" the little creature with beady eyes asked. Lily shrugged and said helplessly, "Well, nothing much right now, but here," she took off a ring, "I'll give you this." The small creature eyed the sparkling ring greedily, and snatched it rudely from Lily's hand. This was not an easy task for such a small goblin, but greed drove him to jump rather high to accomplish his goal. Lily, unfazed by his greediness, replied, "Well?" "It'll do. Follow me, then," the goblin commanded and led her through the bustling throng.  
  
Hordes of goblins were everywhere, and they became less concentrated as they started to get closer to the castle. Lily was getting anxious as they got closer, almost expecting the castle to grow feet and run away, but it didn't. The goblin stopped in front of the steps leading to the white stone structure, waiting expectantly for something. "Well, thanks." Lily gave a little wave, and mounted the steps hurriedly. The goblin scowled displeased at the inadequate payment, and melted back to become part of the city again.  
  
Intricately carved doors met her at the top of the white stone stairs that matched the castle. It was beautiful, but the designs on the door were horrifying. They depicted scenes of the hell and many battles and wars, blood and gore. Feeling slightly queasy, she placed a quaking palm on the door, seeing if it would give. Surprisingly they did move inward, but only slightly, as she hadn't pushed very hard. Pushing with both hands and putting her back into it, they gave way, but slowly. It's not that they were heavy, even though they should've been, but it was as if there were some barrier holding her back.  
  
Sighing, she gave up as her last reserve of strength left her. She moved down a bit, and sat on one of the steps. Gloomily, she placed her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, thinking. She was busy taking stock of her situation. Maybe she should try knocking? Not likely, as she was sure the doors were too tough for her to make any noise off of them. Maybe they would respond to words like the gates had? That wasn't likely either, as they had been gates and not doors. Should she try looking for a key? That was decidedly foolish, as there had been no lock on the door for her to put it in. Rubbing her eyes, she sighed in defeat.  
  
  
  
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	4. Meeting the Goblin King

Hi everyone, here's chapter 4. It's shorter than the other chapters, but what the hey. Its not like I get brownie points for consistency, or do I? While I ponder that question, you can read the next chapter below! Thanks  
  
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A clicking and mumbling noise could be heard coming towards her up the steps. Removing her hands from her eyes, Lily raised her head to see who it was. It was a little man, wrinkled, but not as smelly as the goblins, nor as ugly. He had on a skullcap and jewels were clanking against his hip. His eyes widened in surprise and he stopped his ascent and stared at her. "Oh, hello," Lily said politely. Manners had been ingrained on her since she was a baby, and she often found them hard to shake.  
  
The little man just mumbled something. Lily stood and moved aside to let him pass. "Who's be you?" the man asked. "I'm Lily. Do you know how to open this door?" As she asked, he pulled out a little key that looked rather silly for a door of that size. Nonetheless, he placed the key in the door, the lock was not visible, and the door swung open noisily.  
  
"I'm Hoggle, Labyrinth locksmith. Do you have business with the king?" he asked grumpily. "Well, no, not formally. I need to get home, and I was told that he could help me. Unless you can recommend someone else around here to help me," Lily replied sarcastically. Hoggle laughed gruffly. So, this girl had a sense of humor after all. "All right, just be careful if you are going in there," Hoggle said. "Wait, this castle is rather large, and I'm going to need a person to help me get to where I'm supposed to go. Can you help me?" Lily pleaded. Hoggle sighed and gave in. This girl was so nice and sincere; he couldn't turn her down.  
  
"Oh, all right. But, I'm going to need some kind of incentive to go in there. The Goblin King isn't very agreeable at times," Hoggle explained. Lily frowned. She felt around on her person, in her pocket, all around. Her hand hit something solid in her pocket. Her change purse. Luckily it just happened to be in her pocket. Opening it, she found one coin left. The gold glinted in the dying light, as the sun set. Without hesitation she handed it to Hoggle, who like the goblin, took it greedily.  
  
Hoggle started through the doors, and Lily followed close behind. The doors closed quietly behind them, just as the gates had done. Lily was so used to it; she didn't even look behind her when she heard the noise. Hoggle walked stealthily up a staircase, and Lily followed. The inside of the castle wasn't as bad as Lily had thought it would be. It was a bit dusty, but other than that it was clean.  
  
There weren't many goblins, and when they did see one, it hurried on its way. So, far they had gone down three different hallways and two staircases, and were so far away from the front door that Lily was hopelessly lost. Good thing she had Hoggle. It was eerily quiet, their feet making the only noise. Hoggle stopped abruptly as they reached a stone room with a stone throne on a dais across from them. A man sat lazily upon it, his chin in his hand. A dent was in the middle of the floor before the throne, separating Lily and Hoggle from the throne and the man.  
  
Above the throne was a crown with a vulture perched alertly on it. The man looked up as they entered, and he eyed Lily with interest. She wasn't sure whether this was good or not. He certainly didn't look like a goblin, Lily mused. The most startling thing about him was that he had different colored eyes, almost as if they belonged to two different people. Lily looked down to ask Hoggle something, but only empty space greeted her where Hoggle had once stood. 'Coward,' Lily thought annoyed. She had paid him and this was as far as he had gotten her, some help he turned out to be.  
  
The man stood and stepped gracefully down the steps that led to his throne, keeping his eyes on Lily the whole time. As his feet touched the stone floor, he crossed his arms in front of him in an impatient manner. Lily didn't know if he was the Goblin King or not, so she asked. "You're him aren't you, the Goblin King I mean?" The man snorted in derision and said, "Of course. And since you know who I am, I think you'd better tell me who you are." "I'm Lily. Look, I just came here to ask for help getting home. Can you help me?" "Yes, I can, for a price. If I send you home, what's in it for me?" Lily frowned; did everyone around here want something in return for a good deed?  
  
She shrugged and said, "I have nothing else left to give. I gave a goblin my ring and Hoggle my last coin, I've nothing else. Well, here," she took off the locket around her neck, "this is all I have left, take it or leave it." The Goblin King laughed mockingly. "I don't want your necklace dear girl, I had in mind more of companionship. If you keep me company for a while, I'll send you home. How's that?" Lily shook her head in refusal. "I can't stay here, I need to get home. My father was sick before I came here, and I need to get back. If you won't help me, just say so," Lily demanded.  
  
The Goblin King's eyes turned dark with anger, and he stepped gracefully but angrily towards her. He sidestepped the pit in the middle of the room, and ended up right in front of her. Circling her like predator, his eyes took in her flushed pale skin and rosy red lips. She was beautiful, he noted, even filthy. Lily was uncomfortable with him walking around her like that, so she told him, "Can you please stop doing that, you're making me dizzy." He stopped to stand right in front of her and looked her in the eye. "Tell me how you came to be here, and then we'll talk about getting you home. Please have a seat," he gestured to a chair that hadn't been there before.  
  
In fact, the whole room hadn't been there before. It was as if the room had melted without her knowing it and morphed into something else. The room they were in now appeared to be a dining room; a long table was in the middle with many chairs surrounding it. Lily sat in the chair that was held out for her, and the Goblin King sat beside her at the head of the table. He leaned back in his chair, and steepled his fingers in front of him with his arms resting on the chair's armrests. He looked at Lily expectantly. Lily uncomfortable in the silence started talking, as he had wanted her to. "Well, I, I don't really know how I came to be here exactly. I woke up in a forest, followed a path through it, and then came to your Labyrinth. I traversed it, and then ended up here, end of story," Lily explained.  
  
  
  
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Thanks, don't forget to review! Reviews are like water, I can't live without them. Sorry I was trying to be poetic again, (*grins*). 


	5. Legends Collide

Hello out there to my few faithful readers. This is chapter 5. Say hello to chapter 5. Chapter 5, say hello to your readers. Now that you have been properly introduced I'll leave you two alone.  
  
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She daringly cast a glimpse over at the Goblin King to see what he would say, but he didn't say anything. Lily turned her eyes straight ahead again. She shifted nervously in her chair, the silence ringing in her ears. Then he started to speak. "I believe you don't know how you got here, but I have the feeling there's something you're not telling me," the King said harshly. Lily looked at him once again, taking in his cold brown and blue eye, his light blonde hair that took up residence on his shoulders, and his pale finely sculpted face.  
  
He was eerily beautiful in the dancing candlelight, and Lily found herself speechless. Candlelight? It was suddenly dark in the room as she looked around, and there were indeed candles. It must get dark real quickly here, she thought to herself. "So, tell me, Lily did you enjoy my Labyrinth?" the Goblin King asked mockingly. She said honestly, "No, it was difficult, and I was tired to begin with. It was beautiful at different sections, but dangerous, too. It kept changing, so that was pretty frustrating. Nope, can't say that I enjoyed it one bit." The King laughed sincerely at her honesty, revealing perfect white teeth and a wolfish grin. Lily smiled back at him. He looked different when he laughed, not as threatening.  
  
She composed herself, and took a deep breath, then let it back out. "You're right, there's something I'm not telling you because, well, because it was weird in the first place, so I'm not sure I even want to bring it up," Lily said. The King raised an eyebrow, and said, "Please continue. If I am to help you get back home, the least you can do is talk with me." "Easy enough," Lily leaned over the table and put her chin in her hand, "my mother's nickname for me before she died was Snow White because I was born on the snow. When I told this to a couple of the inhabitants here, well, they acted as if I was some kind of, I don't know…legend? It was odd to say the least."  
  
"So, you're telling me that you are THE Snow White?" the Goblin King asked. "That's precisely what I'm saying. And how is that everyone seems to know who I am around here?" Lily asked, aggravated. The King raised on arched eyebrow in a mocking manner and said, "You mean you don't know. You're only the most famous heroine in stories in the Underground. The tales of your adventures grace the bookshelves from here to earth. Does this surprise you?" Lily nodded slowly. So, she really was some kind of legend around here. "You're sort of a story book villain in my world, Goblin King," Lily replied spitefully. "Oh really? Do tell," he answered. "It's written in some books that you steal mortal children, then turn them into goblins for your own amusement," Lily said.  
  
The King chuckled in disbelief. "Not quite so. It's true, I do turn children into goblins, or at least I did. I don't steal them, someone wishes them away to me, but I haven't turned a child in, oh, at least 54 years." This startled Lily, and her looks must have given it away because he said, "Yes, Lily, I did say 54 years. I am 189 years old. I'm immortal, or at least close to it." Lily nodded, "That would explain it then. Can I ask you your name? I can't go around calling you Goblin King forever." "Can't you?" the King mocked, "no I suppose you can't. It's Jareth. Or, wasn't that in one of your fairy books?" Lily shook her head no.  
  
"Well, we can't have you going around filthy like this for much longer, I'll give you a room so you can get clean. Oh, don't look at me like that, I didn't mean that as an insult," Jareth said as she gave him a hurt look. Lily then nodded in understanding and agreement; she almost couldn't stand her own stench. Pushing back his chair, Jareth stood, walked over to Lily and offered a hand. She took it and stood, then put her hands on her back and bent slightly trying to stretch it. It seemed sore for some reason. A faint popping noise could be heard as the result of this. Jareth had started off down a hallway, and Lily stepped lively to keep up with him.  
  
  
  
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	6. Lily's Chamber

Hi, I just wanted to take the time right now and thank my two loyal readers Anita Knight and Silver Space, you know who you are, and give them a big thank you for reading AND reviewing. I really appreciate it. I like getting feedback. Ok, here's chapter 6.  
  
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Many turns and hallways later, Jareth stopped in front of a wooden door with brass hinges. The door appeared to be made of some kind of mahogany, or at least its equivalent, Lily wasn't sure what trees grew in this place. Jareth looked at Lily waiting for her to open the door and go inside, but instead he changed his mind and did the gentlemanly thing and opened the door for her. She was HIS guest after all. Lily took the hint and walked inside, and then she remembered she hadn't thanked him yet, so she turned around and shouted after him. He turned back around as she said, "Jareth…thank you. I really appreciate all this." "Your welcome," he replied, flashing her one of his dashing smiles. She blushed and closed the door behind herself.  
  
Once inside Lily was startled to find it was the same size as her room back home. She assumed since the castle was so big that the rooms would be big, too. It wasn't a small room, just not as big as she had expected. She really had to stop assuming things. A simple four poster canopy bed was against the opposite wall. Along the to the right of the bed were two doors with a bookcase filled with books in between them. To the left of the bed was what appeared to be a standing closet, and a vanity with a large oval mirror was right beside the closet. The floors were not carpeted, which Lily hated. But, beggars can't be choosers, she reminded herself.  
  
Trying to find the bathroom, Lily opened the door closest to the bed and found that it was indeed a spacious bathroom, with a weird toilet and a big circular bath carved into the floor. On the opposite side of the bathroom was a sink and beside that a large stand up mirror. A chair with a robe appeared beside the mirror, at least she thought they appeared there. She could've sworn they hadn't been there a minute ago.  
  
Ridding herself of her clothes, Lily tested the water in the bathtub and found it was a bit hot, but didn't let that deter her. She practically dove into the tub in her excitement. Shampoos and soaps lined the tub, and they all had rather pleasing scents. Lily lathered her hair twice, the bottle said rinse and repeat after all. She also scrubbed her skin until it hurt. When the water started to look pretty gross from the dirt and grime, she got out and wrapped herself in the big fluffy white robe she had found on the chair. Under the robe was a towel that she wrapped her sopping wet brown locks in.  
  
Walking towards the closet, she opened it to find that it was full of clothes. Lily had thought for sure it would only have one or two dresses. The actual number was more than she had ever seen in one closet before. It was ridiculous and a bit silly to her that one would have so many clothes, but she wasn't going to complain. All she really wanted at the moment was a comfortable nightgown. She found one in one of the bottom drawers. The material felt like silk and it was long and had a fairly reasonable neckline.  
  
Once Lily had donned the gown, she towel dried her hair the best she could and painfully brushed out all the knots and snags. This wasn't easy and it was awhile before she got it all smooth, her hair being clear down to her lower back. Just brushing her hair tired her out more, and she fell onto the bed in total exhaustion. She fell asleep almost immediately. Her sleep was peaceful and deep. No troubled thoughts filled her mind, only dreams of huge mazes, changing walls, storybook castles and princes, damsels in distress, the works. Only she awoke before the end of the dream and it left her with a feeling of incompleteness.  
  
The sunlight streaming through a window hurt Lily's eyes, and she closed the blinds with a growl of annoyance. After her morning routine of brushing, bathing, drying, and dressing in a light lavender dress, she opened the door to her in search of breakfast. A silver tray lay outside her door filled with savory smelling food that made Lily's mouth water. She picked up the tray and put it on her bedside table. She was delighted to find it was the same type of food she ate at home, pancakes, sausages, and toast with orange juice. While she was eating a white folded piece of parchment grabbed her attention. Lily unfolded it and read it eagerly. This is what it said:  
  
Dear Lily,  
  
Sorry I couldn't join you for breakfast. Being a king rarely allows you the privilege of eating. I hope you enjoy your meal. If you get bored there's a library not too far for your room, and you have free roam of the castle and the surrounding areas. Just stay away from the Goblin's Quarters and stay out of trouble.  
  
His Royal Highness,  
  
Jareth, Goblin King  
  
Lily almost laughed at the last remark. Almost because it was just like her to get into trouble when you least expected it. Maybe she would just stay in her room all day. Fat chance, she told herself. After all, she was a legend here. She was THE Snow White, nothing like a title to boost your ego. Finishing off the last part of her breakfast, Lily decided to go outside for a while. It was a lovely spring day, and the sunlight that had hurt her eyes as she had awoken was there to greet as she stepped outside.  
  
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Thanks for reading! Please review because I like to know how I'm doing! 


	7. Oracle Bane

Hi, this is chapter 7, and it's kinda short. At least shorter than the other chapter. Thank you to Anita Knight and Silver Space once again for reading and reviewing. I really, really appreciate it. Ok, I'll stop talking now here's chapter.  
  
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Walking around outside, Lily came upon the Goblin City that she had passed through during her trek to the castle. There was still a lot of hustle and bustle, and she avoided it. Hadn't Jareth said to avoid the Goblin Quarters? She was sure he had said that, but what exactly a Goblin Quarter was Lily wasn't sure. So, she walked around the perimeter of the castle. Almost when she thought there was nothing except weeds surrounding it, she came upon an overrun garden. It looked as if it was once taken care of, but it was left to go to seed. And it had done that quite successfully.  
  
Stooping down she picked out a couple of weeds, not like it would make much difference. She wiped the dirt on her dress distractedly, as her thoughts were somewhere else. Maybe Jareth could use his magic to fix it, Lily thought. She was sure he was a powerful king it would only take him a couple of seconds. Or, maybe there was a reason it was left alone. Lily decided it couldn't hurt to ask. She stood back up and continued going around the castle.  
  
A bright light in the distance caught her attention and she jogged to it hurriedly. A white marble statue reflecting the light from the sun greeted her sights. The statue was of a woman, a very beautiful woman. The woman was depicted as having long hair, a graceful and lithe figure, and although she was beautiful even as a statue, she looked sad. Not just in her facial expression, but a deep sadness that encompassed her whole being. This thought shocked Lily. Statues couldn't be sad. At least, not in her world.  
  
Lily was a little wary of it, and headed back in the other direction. "Wait!" a voice called from the direction of the statue. Lily turned back around and looked at the white marble structure. It hadn't appeared to say anything, but she was sure that was the only thing that could've spoken. She walked back towards it, and eyed it suspiciously. "Did you say something?" Lily asked impulsively. She felt uncomfortable talking to an inanimate object, but the words were already out of her mouth before she could take them back. "Yes, I said 'wait' because you were leaving and I didn't want you to go. I get awfully lonely back here. Won't you stay and talk awhile with me?" the statue's lips hadn't moved while Lily watched and listened, but she had heard it speak clear as day. "Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you're a statue. How is it that you can speak?" Lily inquired, suddenly curious. "Oh, I do an awful lot of speaking. It's just that not everyone can hear me. You, my dear, must be very special to be able to hear the Oracle of Bane. What is your name child?" the statue asked just as equally curious. "I'm Lily, it's short for Lilianna," Lily said.  
  
The statue almost seemed to shake its head, "No, it's your nickname I'm more interested in. What it is? Oh yes, you're Snow White, aren't you my dear?" "Yes, I am…how…how did you know that?" the fear in Lily's voice obvious. The statue laughed at her trepidation. "I'm not going to hurt you child. We all know who you are. After all, what could a statue do, hmm?" the statue asked and laughed at her own joke. Lily laughed to at how ridiculous she was being.  
  
"Yes…so you're an oracle. I've never talked to an oracle before. Why are you speaking through a statue?" "Oh, that. Well, that was what I looked like when I was still a being of this world. I have since passed on to the place in the sky. I just haunt this place to see who will turn up. I found you after all. I hate to keep you child, I must be deterring you from something, go on your way. Just don't forget about me. It's not often that people wonder back here." "I won't" Lily promised, and headed back to the castle.  
  
That evening during dinner in her room, a knock on her door startled her and she went to open it. An antsy goblin woman pushed her way into the room as soon as the door was open. "Coming through, his majesty requests that you meet him in the throne room," the little woman said, dropped into a low bow, and hurried out the door again. Lily shrugged and followed her.  
  
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Thanks for reading. Please review. Oh hey, I have a riddle. What big and brown and evil? Give up? I don't know but it's on your shoulder…hehe. Sorry, I was trying to be funny again. Bad Darla. 


	8. When the Past Haunts You

Did anyone watch the academy awards last night? OMG, Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in A Beautiful Mind. It was great. I was so happy I was crying. Ok, so some of you might be wondering why Sarah doesn't appear at all in this fic. I just thought it was time for a new heroine because Sarah always gets portrayed as either whiney or ignorant. It's very annoying. That's why. Ok, here's chapter 8.  
  
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What greeted her sight as soon as she stepped into the room, was a very disheveled and frustrated looking Jareth with a group of three threatening looking men. They appeared familiar to Lily, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Until one of them opened their mouth and spoke, "Ah, Lady Lily. Nice to see you again. How's your father?" Lily hissed in pain as she heard his voice again and scowled, "Kaelin, how dare you show your face in my presence you bastard," Lily growled. "I don't know exactly what's going on here Lily, but these men insisted that they speak with you. They said it was urgent," Jareth explained apologetically. Lily smiled a grim smile and nodded in understanding. "Why don't you ask them," Lily moved her head in Kaelin's direction to indicate whom she was talking about, "what's going on. I'm sure they'd be all to happy to tell you." "Explain yourselves then," Jareth demanded in a regal tone and sat down in his throne.  
  
Kaelin took his place in front of the throne and clasped his hands behind his back as he paced back and forth contemplatively. "I was hired to kill Lily as her stepmother ordered. I obviously failed, and her stepmother was furious with me. Her stepmother is dead now, but her father lies dying. But, before her stepmother died she left me with a reminder of what a failure I was," he took off one of his black gloves to reveal all five fingers missing, "and this is that reminder. All I ask is for Lily back so that she can pay back the debt she owes me from this…infliction. I ask that you comply or we shall use force." Kaelin used the most threatening and dark voice he could muster to deliver his purpose.  
  
Jareth aimed a very dark look at Kaelin in return. "Tell me Kaelin, how it was you were able to enter the Underground from earth without using an outside source," Jareth said. Kaelin looked as if he was going to refuse, but he changed his mind and said, "We conjured the Black Lady and she brought us here." Lily stood watching Kaelin lie with tears in her eyes, fearful that Jareth would let him take her. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her teeth were firmly bitten into her bottom lip. Jareth glanced quickly over at Lily to see how she was taking it. He wasn't surprised to see her upset, anger visibly written across her face.  
  
"Enough!" Jareth stated forcibly, "I have had enough. I'm only going to say this once, if you don't leave here in the next ten seconds and take your men with you, I will transport you somewhere, but not all of you. The rest of your body parts will be placed in a jar. Do I make myself clear?" The men all looked over at Kaelin to see what he decided, and he nodded. "Fine, but make no mistake Goblin King, I will have my revenge on Lily," Kaelin said as he disappeared slowly, back to the Aboveground. As soon as they had departed, Lily broke down and fell to her knees. She grabbed handfuls of her hair in her hands, and sobbed violently.  
  
Jareth, not knowing how to handle a crying girl, transported Lily back to her room so she could have her privacy. He then sighed and leaned back in his throne. His thoughts were a million miles away though. He had a coronation ceremony coming up to commemorate his ruling for 100 years. Although he wasn't looking forward to it, at least now he would have someone to escort him, that was, of course, if Lily accepted. And, those two men and their threats, he would put guards around the castle should they decide to carry them out. With his thoughts fully straightened out, he transported himself to his own room.  
  
The next morning Lily awoke with a splitting headache and a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes were sore and her throat burned. Those were just a few of her aches and pains that she was complaining in her head about. The night before she had cried herself to sleep. In the middle of the night she had woke up crying, and then she cried herself back to sleep again. She tried to sit up in bed, and she was successful, but standing was harder than she thought it would be. Leaning herself carefully against the bed pole for support, she put both feet on the ground and stood slowly. This helped her, and she was able to take baby steps over to the vanity mirror to inspect the damage. Her eyes were red and swollen, almost bloodshot. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her lips were chapped and had teeth marks in the bottom one. Deciding that the only solution to her appearance was a bath, she walked over to the bathroom and shut the door.  
  
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	9. Breakfast Broodings

I'm still floating on cloud nine because Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar! I just can't believe it! Oh, if I don't post more for a couple of days it's because I'm learning how to play guitar and the fingertips of my left hand are super sore. Ok, I'll stop rambling now here's chapter 9.  
  
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Much later that day, Lily emerged from her room fresh and clean, and she had to admit to herself a little better looking. Heading to the dining room, she encountered many guards standing around the hallways. Their armor clanked and clinked loudly as they fooled around, being goblins. Lily didn't really pay them any attention; her mind set on breakfast. Jareth was already seated at the table once Lily entered the dining room, and he had started eating without her.  
  
As she sat at the table he said, "I see you decided to join me." Lily nodded and piled food onto her plate. "Lily, is there anything you want to tell about those men that came here last night demanding and threatening that they take you with them?" Lily shrugged and started eating. Jareth sighed in frustration and said, "Let me rephrase that. You are going to tell me why they were here and why they wanted you to leave with them." Now it was Lily's turn to sigh. "It's true, well, at least most of it is true. The part about why he wants me is the only thing Kaelin lied about. He asked my father for my hand in marriage. My father, respecting my feelings, asked me what I thought about it. I declined, and I guess Kaelin is still sore over it," Lily explained. Jareth nodded in understanding. Lily kept eating with her head down, a little embarrassed with the whole thing.  
  
"I can relate," Jareth replied earnestly, "I have women pining after me all the time. It's rather annoying isn't it?" Lily shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I've only been asked twice." Jareth laughed a little at that. "What?" Lily questioned. Jareth shook his head from side to side. "Who was the second person to ask you?" Jareth wanted to know. Lily looked up at Jareth and the expression on her face made him want to take back what he had asked, but he couldn't now that it was out in the open. Lily couldn't hide the pain when it flashed across her face, and she knew Jareth saw it, and so she explained to him why she was pained over what he asked.  
  
"The second person to ask me I accepted. We became engaged," Lily explained quietly, "but, my stepmother killed him. She killed a lot of people then, I supposed." Jareth was definitely not expecting that response. No wonder she had looked so sad. "Lily, how many people did your stepmother kill?" Lily put her fork back beside her plate, her appetite suddenly gone. She ran shaking hand through her dark hair, and said, "I'm not sure of the exact count. I know she tried to kill my father and I. She killed all the servants in the house, the dwarves I befriended, my fiancé, my fiancé's men, and her own son. So, I'd say somewhere around thirty maybe."  
  
Once again, Jareth was shocked. He kept his mask of cool calm in place, though. "Your stepmother must've been a monster to have killed so many people. How did she conceal the fact that she was evil?" Jareth asked curiously. Lily clasped her hands together on the table. "I don't believe she was evil at first. As conceited as this may sound it's true, she was jealous of my youth and beauty. Sure, she was pretty, but that wasn't enough for her. Beauty was all that mattered, even if it was only skin deep. My father, he favored me over her at a dance, and she became furious. She was pregnant with his child at that time, too. But, I don't want to get into that right now," Lily explained.  
  
Jareth nodded in understanding. What a horrible ordeal Lily had been through. He felt sorry for her, and he gently reached out and put both of his gloved hands on her smooth ivory white hands. She smiled gently at him, which caused Jareth to smile back. What passed between those two at that moment couldn't be described in words, they both felt it, but didn't acknowledge it. It was as if they were bonded, one mind shared between two bodies. Lily pulled her hands out from under his quickly as if she had been burned. Jareth cleared his throat, and stood. "I have some duties to attend to. You can stay in your room, or any part of the castle. Just don't wander too far from the castle. I'm not sure how much a threat Kaelin really is, but I don't want to take any chances."  
  
Lily him in the eye and nodded in agreement. Then she said, without prelude, "Jareth, when can I go home?" Immediately she wanted to take it back because of the pain that she saw in his eyes for a moment, then it was gone. She wasn't even really sure if she had seen it in the first place. Folding his arms in front of his chest, Jareth became very much the Goblin King again. "When I feel like letting you return," and with that he turned transparent and disappeared from view.  
  
Wanting to cry, Lily hurried back to her room and flopped back on her bed her face buried in her pillows.  
  
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	10. In the Ballroom

Hi, here's chapter 10.  
  
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~~2 months later~~  
  
A golden leaf carriage pulled up to the outside of the white stone castle illuminated by torches surrounding the perimeter to make it sparkle. Out of the carriage stepped Lord and Lady Rentagon, one of the many noble couples invited to King Jareth's celebration of 100 years of rule. Many other carriages started to arrive after them, as they were the first to walk up the white steps leading to the doors, which were open in greeting. Other couples started stepping gracefully out of there carriages, some single too of course, and joined the caravan walking up the steps. As they all entered the huge stone throne room, which had been transformed from gloomy hues of gray to enchanting hues of lavender, silver, gold, and peach. Jareth stood from his throne and walked down to greet all his guests, wondering vaguely what was taking Lily so long.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily was back in her room, trying to get ready. Trying and finding that the dress she had chosen to wear was almost impossible to zip up herself. She zipped it up halfway then reached over her shoulder on her tiptoes and managed to grab the zipper and pull it up the rest of the way. Letting out a breath of relief she pulled out a pair of matching pink slippers. The dress she had chosen was simple but elegant. The material was a gauzy light pink, and the pink full straps hung off of her pale shoulders. A single emerald rested in the material between her shoulders in the hollow of her breasts. She had chosen to leave her hair down because she was running out of time.  
  
The night before she had left it in curlers, and now it was curly and dark and shined as if it had strips of gold intertwined with her brown locks. Taking a deep breath, she hauled up the skirts of the gauzy material, and opened her door. Jareth had instructed her to meet him in the ballroom. She had walked there and back from her rooms many times earlier that day to make sure she would be able to find it. Alighting at the top of the stairs to the marble and crystal ballroom, Lily hesitated. Butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach, refusing to cease flight. Clenching her fists and straightening her shoulders she told herself that she had done this before, and she could do it again. She pasted a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes and walked down the steps.  
  
Jareth had spotted Lily across the room while he was in the middle of a conversation with one of his admirers. Her hair tumbled like dark curly silk around her shoulders and down her back. He took in her flushed pale skin and ruby lips. "And, I said, 'Darling you'…Jareth, are you listening to me?" Jareth rolled his eyes and excused himself, and started walking to the stairs just as Lily stepped onto the ballroom floor. The expression on her face clearly said she didn't want to be there, but she was there anyway for his benefit. He smiled at her sincerely, and took her hand. "You look beautiful, Lily," Jareth said, every bit the seductive charmer. Lily blushed a shade of pink as he kissed her hand, and said, "Thank you. You look nice, too." A hush fell over the crowded ballroom as Jareth and Lily glided onto the dance floor. This was the cue that the ball had begun, and other couples started to join them in dancing.  
  
As Jareth and Lily danced closely, a slew of single women watched jealously. Lily was slowly becoming more and more comfortable being this close to Jareth. He smelled masculine and fragrant. And the way he held her, so gently as if she was made of porcelain and she would break. It touched Lily to know that he did care, even if he would never admit it outright. The past months they had become good friends and eventually Lily forgot all about going home. She still missed her father with her whole being, but it was probably better off for him to still think her dead. The night wore on, and eventually Lily began to feel rather tired. Asking Jareth if he minded if she sat the next one out, he agreed, and she went and sat at table with her name on a piece of paper. Looking at the seat next to her, she saw it was reserved for Jareth.  
  
Turning her thoughts toward him again, she looked up to discover he was dancing closely with a blonde woman. The woman was beautiful, but so were all of the women here. Something about her seemed familiar to Lily, but she shrugged and put it in the back of her mind. "Excuse me, Lady. Would you like to dance?" a voice asked to Lily's left. She turned her head and found a dark haired man with startling bright green eyes looking intently back at her. "Do I know you?" Lily asked. The man said, "Forgive me. I am Lord Eliahnon, but my friends call me Eli," he said, his velvety voice held a note of mirth. Lily decided it couldn't hurt to be polite and dance with him, after all, Jareth was dancing with another woman.  
  
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	11. Fireworks

Sorry, I know this chapter took me a while to post, but I was out til so late last night that I couldn't even make it to the computer. So, belatedly, here's chapter 11.  
  
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Lily and Eli started to dance, and she felt a bit uncomfortable being this close to someone whom she just met. Eli must've noticed this because he whispered in her ear seductively, "Don't be frightened, I was sent by the Oracle Bane, she has a very important message that she wants to give you. You must go visit her out in the garden as soon as possible." This request startled Lily, she had almost forgotten about the Oracle. Whatever the Oracle had to say was sure to be important; Lily fled the arms of the dark man, and left the castle. Jareth looked up from dancing and saw Lily hurriedly flee. He excused himself from his partner, and walked over to Eli who had begun to dance with someone else. Jareth pulled him roughly by the arm and pinned him to the wall. "What did you say to her?" Jareth hissed threateningly. Eli looked innocent and replied, "I just told her the Oracle wanted to see her. I am just a messenger." Jareth, not trusting this dark character, cursed and followed in Lily's path outside.  
  
How she had found out about the Oracle, Jareth didn't know. He hadn't even known that the Oracle still haunted the statue. As Lily came into view, she was standing with her ivory back to him, facing the Oracle. She was in a trance like state, staring at the statue intently. This worried Jareth and he whispered in her ear, "Lily can you hear me?" Lily seemed to snap out of it, and looked at Jareth and said, "Of course I can hear you. I was just talking to the Oracle. Can't you hear her speaking?" Jareth shook his head no. This was odd, very odd indeed. "She said that she wanted to warn me that someone powerful was going to show up and try to harm me. She wanted to tell me to protect me, so don't look so worried," Lily said. "I'm not worried," Jareth snapped.  
  
Lily grinned sweetly back at him.  
  
"Jareth, you and I both know that's not true. If you weren't worried about me, you wouldn't have followed me out here. I know you care about me." Jareth looked like he was going to deny it, but unexpectedly he said, "You're right Lily, I do care about you," he said stepping closer to her. Lily, being such an innocent, just smiled back at him. She didn't realize what he meant to do until he was standing right in front of her gazing intently into her blue eyes. A black gloved hand brushed the stray strands of hair that fell into her pale face, and then moved down to caress the pale skin covering her cheek bone. This gesture startled Lily, but not as much as what happened next. Jareth brought his mouth down and covered her lips with his own, burying his nimble fingers in her silky hair. Fireworks went off behind Lily's eyelids, and shivers ran down her spine. Her hands worked their way around Jareth's neck, bringing his body closer to hers.  
  
The kiss, while they were distracted, was interrupted by a loud bang originating from the ballroom. They both broke contact breathlessly, and looked towards that direction. Jareth cursed, and transported himself there immediately, leaving Lily alone in the darkness once again.  
  
  
  
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	12. False Pretenses

Chapter 12  
  
  
  
A dark chuckle coming from behind the statue made Lily jump, and she spun around to see a dark figure emerge from the shadows. "Eli!" Lily exclaimed, "you startled me. What was that noise?" Eli chuckled again, he obviously found something amusing. The voice inside Lily's head started again, it was the Oracle Bane. She was telling Lily that she was speaking to the very person whom she had tried to warn her against. Lily gasped in surprise as he grabbed her by the waist, and pinned her to the adjacent castle wall with his body. Lily tried her best to get him off, but he pinned her hands with one of his large ones above her head. "Here, I thought it was Kaelin, I should've known it was you. What do you want?" Lily asked nervously. "What's this, the brave Snow White scared? As for what I want, my dear, that's for me to know, and you to find out," he whispered seductively in her ear, and bit her ear lobe.  
  
Lily yelped in pain, which made Eli grin darkly. Thinking of the only self-defense that was sure to work, she screamed bloody murder. The sound was a horrible high-pitched scream that made Eli's ears ache, and he smacked Lily across the face with the back of his large hand.  
  
When Jareth entered the large ballroom in a huff and found nothing amiss, he knew immediately that he had been duped. His fears were justified when he heard Lily's high-pitched scream coming from the garden. Guilt overwhelmed him as he had left her alone, and it was replaced with anger almost instantly. Whoever had made her scream was going to pay. Wasting no time, he transported himself hurriedly back to the garden. What greeted his sights was Lily pinned against the wall, obviously upset, by a big dark man. He recognized the man at once as being Eli. Jareth conjured a dark crystal and threw it at the man. Once the crystal hit him, it burst and the shards were all that was left. Lily slumped to the ground, her knees weak. Jareth was by her side in a heartbeat, helping her to stand. "Are you all right?" Jareth asked, his tone concerned. Lily nodded, and said, "Yes, I'm fine. I was just a bit frightened that's all."  
  
The bruise forming on Lily's face wasn't noticeable until he had gotten her back inside the ballroom. Most of the guests, although thought it strange that the king kept leaving, enjoyed themselves despite this, and had retired to their rooms for the night. Some still loomed about the ballroom either dancing slowly or pouring themselves more wine. Jareth sat Lily down at the table and demanded to know what had happened. Lily told him and told him about the Oracle Bane the day she had met her. Jareth was silent through all of the explaining. He gently placed his dark glove clad hands over Lily's ivory ones. She smiled weakly back at him. "I'm sorry I ruined your ceremony, Jareth. These things just seem to happen to me on a regular basis. Here, what I thought was a nice man that wanted to dance was some sick malicious person who tried to take advantage of me. One thing that's troubling me, though, it's that he knew what the Oracle would tell me. How could he have known?" Lily asked in frustration.  
  
Jareth felt at this point maybe he should enlighten Lily about the Oracle and he did so. "Lily, the Oracle may be all knowing, but she's a bad judge of character. She must've not recognized Eli for what he was right away, and had told him to go get you so she could warn you. I'm sure she never meant to put you in harm's way. If she had she wouldn't have warned you in your head, even if it was too late," Jareth said. Lily shook her head, and said, "No, it's not that I think she meant to hurt me, but how would you know what her intentions were?" Jareth stood and pushed in his chair. "That, love, is a different story that I shall tell you one day. But, it's late now and I'm sure you're tired, come." Lily took the arm that Jareth offered her, and he escorted her to her room. She thanked Jareth at the door, but that obviously wasn't enough for him, because he took her hand gently and spun her around to face him. She looked him in the eye, as he backed her carefully against the wall beside her door. Lily gasped as her back came in contact with the wall, her eyes never leaving his. Jareth reached out a single finger to lightly trace her exposed collarbone. This made Lily's heart beat rapidly. His mouth replaced his finger, and he trailed kisses up her neck to her jaw. His mouth worked its way along her jawbone, and stopped. Reaching up with both hands, his thumbs caressed Lily's lower lip.  
  
When Jareth lowered his head and brought his lips down on hers, Lily thought for sure she was going to faint. The kiss was so sweet it made Lily's heart ache tenderly. A tingling sensation shot through Lily's body when Jareth moved closer to her, and she could feel the heat of his body right up against hers. Before he lost all control completely, Jareth broke the kiss quickly and excused himself. Lily watched his back as he retreated from her and turn the corner at a brisk pace. Wondering what made him leave so suddenly, she walked into her room and shut the door, trying to put it out of her mind. Grabbing a book off the shelf, Lily plopped contentedly onto her bed to read before falling asleep. She had changed out of her encompassing and annoying ball gown into a simple white night gown. Barely into the book, Lily fell asleep almost immediately, her dreams plagued with vision of a handsome blonde goblin king.  
  
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	13. To Father's House We Go

Chapter 13  
  
The royal gold carriage bumped and bounced as it made it's way slowly across the monocolored rocky landscape. Lily, in an uncomfortable forest green dress, was getting tired and there was no place to lie down on the flat bench she was seated on. Jareth sat across from her dressed in all black, as if in mourning, his thoughts apparently a million miles away as he stared out the glass window. He had asked Lily to go with him to his father's, being a gentleman because he didn't want to leave her by herself for a whole week, especially with Kaelin's threat still looming heavily. She had accepted, and now they sat miserably in the small muggy carriage trying to ignore the fact that the silence had become unbearable. It was rough for Lily to watch him struggle with his emotions about being around his father. Jareth had told Lily beforehand about his father, and why he hardly ever went to visit him, and now that he was dying, Jareth needed to be there.  
  
Jareth's past hadn't been a pleasant one. His father had one wife, but more than one lover. So, Jareth had many bastard brothers and sisters. Jareth's mom knew this, but never got mad until one night when another woman tried to steal her place as queen. Jareth's mother became furious, and tried to kill the other woman, which resulted in Jareth's father's wrath being turned on her. In the struggle, Jareth's father had killed his mother to protect his mistress. Lily had thought her life story was bad until she had heard Jareth's, and she didn't blame him for hating his father one bit. But now, Jareth had to take his father's place as king, which gave him another kingdom to look after.  
  
As his father's gray stone castle could be seen just above the horizon, Jareth finally spoke in hushed tones to Lily. "If he speaks to you rudely, just act like he isn't there. He may be king, but he's still a murderer in my eyes." Lily didn't respond but just nodded. Once the carriage had pulled up outside of the gray and dark castle, which was considerably larger than Jareth's, Jareth helped Lily down from the vehicle. When her feet hit solid ground she thought she wasn't going to be able to walk because of the three-hour cramped carriage ride. Jareth offered Lily his black clad arm as they walked inside the castle. The most noticeable difference that Lily could see between Jareth's and his father's castle was that Jareth's was clean. Even with the goblins, Jareth's castle always looked as if it had just been thoroughly scrubbed.  
  
The gray stone surrounding them was covered with a thick layer of dust, which settled heavily like the feeling of foreboding that encompassed Jareth. Jareth released Lily's arm and told her to stay here while he went to see his father in his chambers. While he was gone, Lily helped the carriage driver bring their luggage in and set it by the large stone throne that was no longer occupied. This was not an easy task, as their baggage was quite heavy and cumbersome. Exhausted from the lifting, Lily went to sit down on the steps of the huge throne. The throne itself looked as if three Lily's could fit in it comfortably without having to squeeze together. Jareth came back in the room, looking worried and quite visibly upset. Lily stood and wiped the dust from the back of her green dress and went to him, as he practically fell into her arms. This wasn't good, and whatever his father had said had visibly upset him.  
  
Lily stroked Jareth's hair, as his arms continued to encircle her against him. She whispered in his ear, "It'll be all right Jareth. He can't hurt you anymore. It's all right. Everything's going to be all right." She could feel him sigh heavily against her, as if he was trying to expel all the hurt. Jareth pulled back slightly to look at her. Her large blue eyes were so expressive that he could see the worry and concern in them.  
  
Being this close to someone who was worried about him, and whose lips were just so inviting, Jareth pulled Lily's face closer to his. Lily, knowing what he needed, allowed him to kiss her passionately. But that didn't mean she in turn didn't enjoy the kiss herself. When they both pulled away breathlessly, something like regret passed over Jareth's face. "What's wrong?" Lily asked. Jareth sighed and said, "I didn't mean for that kiss to take place when and where it did and I'm sorry." Lily smiled and replied, "I'm glad it did. Don't worry about it," and she took his hand as he led her to her guest room. They were both in a better mood now, and they laughed and joked all the way there.  
  
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	14. Empty

Chapter 14  
  
Later that evening in the guestroom that had been picked out for her, Lilianna was going through the motions of putting her clothes away. The room itself was rather small, about the size of a regular bedroom. But what it lacked in size it more than made up for in elegance. It was elegant and feminine. The main color scheme of the room was burgundy and gold, two of Lily's favorite colors. Her thoughts were on Jareth, as they always were. He was such a troubled man, and that puzzled her. As she started to take down her hair by the vanity mirror, Lily could've sworn she saw someone behind her. She never got a chance to finish her thoughts before a hand was placed over her mouth to stifle her screaming, and she was hit over the head and fell into unconsciousness. The man who had threatened her before stood over her satisfied. He motioned for his men to pick her up and carry her back. Now that he had Snow White nothing was going to stop him. Not even the Goblin King.  
  
As Kaelin sealed the gap joining earth and the underground, he laughed a high pitched dark laugh. His whole appearance at that moment took on a crazy air. Now Lily could no longer be gone from him, she was now his prisoner and no magical being from the underground could help her, unless she found out how to break the seal, and the chances of that were slim. After all, he didn't even know how. He mounted his dark brown steed and gave the signal to move out back to his fort. Thick ropes bound Lily to the back of the horse that one of Kaelin's men was riding. The man's name was William Codder, and he was being paid to help. He didn't really care what happened to Lily as long as he got the money he was promised. While Kaelin was dark haired and skinned, his men were both pale, but William was a red head and the other, James, was a blonde.  
  
Lily was still unconscious, and the wound to her head started to bleed again. The blood trickled and oozed down the back of her head into her hair. Of course, none of the men noticed this nor cared. Kaelin and his men rode hard and fast back to his domain. They passed a forest and came to a river where they stopped to water the horses.  
  
After he had watered and fed his horse, Kaelin walked over to the horse Lily was tied to. He checked the thick ropes that bound her with is good hand to make sure there was no chance for her to escape, and of course they were tight enough already, tight enough that if she were awake she would've been wincing in pain. Kaelin checked the wound to the back of her head to make sure it wasn't bleeding seriously, after all he couldn't marry a dead woman. Getting back on his steed, Kaelin and his men moved out again. An hour later they arrived at Kaelin's property. His mansion wasn't tall, but it was sprawling. It covered five acres at least and it had the most impenetrable wall surrounding it.  
  
His mansion looked like something out of medieval times. A mote with fish that had teeth surrounded the building on all side, as did the huge wall with sharp spikes that made the wall unscalable. Guards were posts at the only entrance to the wall, and to get to the mansion a drawbridge joined the mansion to the wall. In the simplest terms Kaelin was a coward. That's why he had such an elaborate security system. This way he'd never have to fight because no one could get in to fight. As he reigned his horse in by the barn he dismounted and had his stable boy brush the horse. He took Lily from Jame's hands after he had untied her, and he carried her inside. James and William followed him like little puppy dogs. Kaelin told his men to wait in the main hall while he carried Lily to her room. Her room just happened to be the highest room in the mansion, two locked doors and a set of steep stairs separating her from the rest of the building.  
  
Lily awoke with a splitting headache and a sharp pain behind her eyelids. She was so disoriented and dizzy that she didn't dare to stand yet. The last thing she remembered was being in her room at Jareth's father's castle and then she had thought she saw someone behind her. Beyond that she didn't remember. She put her hand gently to the back of her head and softly felt the area with trembling unsteady fingers. As she pulled her hand away, blood gathered on her fingers and she rubbed them together. Whoever had brought her here was definitely not interested in her well being. Her dress was torn and stained, but at least in was semi warm, the room she was in seemed rather cold. That's when she realized this room had no windows. There was no way to tell whether it was day or night.  
  
Standing slowly and carefully, Lily tried to walk over to the door to see if it was locked. Walking was definitely not working, so she got down on her hands and knees and had to crawl across the room to the door, the hard stone floors bruising her hands and knees. She used the doorknob to pull herself to her feet and tried to turn the knob. It wouldn't budge. Lily started to cry and pounded on the thick wooden door weakly. That's when she noticed the dark red rope burns across her arms. Deciding not to give up she kept banging on the door and pulling on the doorknob. In ten minutes time she was tired of standing and walked slowly back to the bed. She had to hold the back of her head because it felt as if it were going to fall off. There were no other doors in the room, so that had to be the only way out, she thought as she sat down slowly on the bed, bracing herself with the other hand.  
  
By this time, Lily had figured out that Kaelin must have found where she was, and fulfilled his sick threat by bringing her back to the aboveground with him. This thought saddened her, and she thought about Jareth and what he must be thinking. Had he even noticed that she was gone? All these thoughts ran across Lily's mind unceasingly, and she slowly laid back down as darkness surrounded her senses.  
  
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	15. Gone

Hi, sorry I didn't post this sooner, but I have been so busy. I hope everyone had a great Easter, I know I did. I'm not sure how soon I'll have out the chapter after this, but I promise it will be as soon as I can! Thanks for reading!  
  
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Chapter 15  
  
Gone. That was the first thing Jareth had noticed about Lily's room as he had gone to get her for dinner that evening. The small room was completely empty. The only thing out of place was a lone hairbrush on the floor in front of the vanity. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, he checked all the rooms in the large castle, only to find them all empty as well. He cursed and wanted to hit something, so he did. One black leather gloved hand went sailing through the air followed by a string of angry curses and connected solidly with the wall across from it. Jareth hadn't even felt the pain, as his senses had become numb as soon as he had discovered Lily was missing. He ran his uninjured hand through his blonde hair, and sighed. He would have to ride hard and fast back to his kingdom and try to get the Oracle to talk to him. It was the only way.  
  
Back in his kingdom once again, Jareth reigned in his cobalt black horse and brought it to his stables. The tired horse's nostrils flared as it laid down in its stall once it got there, now in the care of the stable hand. Jareth, in his haste, didn't even bother to lock the stall and he transported himself to the Oracle's statue. Conjuring a clear crystal, he peered into it while aiming it toward the stature. A voice, quiet but strong could be heard at once. It worked! By using his magic he was able to channel the Oracle's voice toward him. "King Jareth. To what do I owe this honor?" the Oracle asked in a condescending tone. Jareth's brow creased and he said, "You're the Oracle, aren't you supposed to tell me?"  
  
A tinkling laugh emanated from his crystal. "Yes, I suppose I am. You've come about he child, Lily. Kaelin came while you were occupied and took her back aboveground. But, I'm afraid you're too late. He's already sealed the gap joining the two worlds." Jareth lost his composure at this comment and cried angrily, "There has to be a way to break the seal. You're the Oracle Bane, tell me how." The Oracle's voice took on a sad tone, contrasting sharply to the mirth that always accompanied her words. "I'm afraid, child, that Lily is the only one that can break it. Only, she does not yet know the power she holds. After all, she is Snow White. The only thing you can do now is wait for her to figure it out and hope that Kaelin hasn't harmed her. I can't reveal all to you yet, but I can promise you there is hope."  
  
Jareth didn't like this one bit. He threw the crystal on the ground where it exploded into many glass shards that caught and reflected the dying sunlight. Using his magic once again, Jareth transported himself into his throne room, where he plopped unceremoniously into it. He had to be a spectator while the woman he cared about had to fight for her life against her past. Rubbing a black glove over his face, he sighed in utter defeat. There was no way he could possibly help her. Thinking of the only thing that might work, he conjured a different kind of crystal and looked into it intently, thinking of Lily and only Lily. A small figure with long brown hair took shape, lying sprawled on a bed with red silk sheets. It was most certainly Lily, Jareth was sure of it. As the crystal started to zoom in on the figure, Jareth could see it was Lily for sure. Her face was pale and flushed, her delicate brow creased in worry, bad dreams plaguing her. Her dress was torn and blood stained, and from that close Jareth could see the rope burns on her arms. Cursing, Jareth banished the crystal and rubbed his eyes. The bastard had hurt her. That was all he needed.  
  
Everything seemed to be happening to Jareth at once. Not only had Lily been kidnapped, but also Jareth's father had just passed away. He could feel it in his mind; it was as if someone had cut something from his soul. It was no real loss to Jareth, but it gave him another kingdom to look after. A kingdom he had planned on giving to Lily once he felt she was ready enough to rule. He wouldn't give up trying to find a way to get to her, he couldn't. For his sake and hers, he would never give up trying.  
  
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Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think so far and review! 


	16. A Plan Forms

Chapter 16  
  
  
  
Soft candlelight greeted Lily as she slowly awakened a second time. The rope burns on her arms still stung and the pain in her head wasn't as sharp as it had been, it was now more of a dull ache instead of a stabbing, pounding feeling. Bracing herself with both arms behind her, Lily sat up to discover that a small tray of food had been left for her on the bedside table. More nauseous than anything, she decided to save the food for later, her stomach protesting the delicious smell. Now that she was feeling a little better, she took this time to inspect her surrounding more thoroughly. There were still no windows, as Lily had expected. A bookshelf was on the right of the bed, a little rug under it. More dust than books actually occupied the piece of furniture.  
  
Other than that, there wasn't much more in the room. The floors were stone and bare. A mirror was by the door; it was large and gilded. It was a simple stand up mirror, not one Lily would consider very attractive. Dust covered a good portion of the mirror, except one spot where the dust had been cleared in the center in the shape of a small circle. Lily hadn't noticed this at first, but now it had her attention. Standing with more confidence, she walked over to the mirror. It was odd because the circle was exactly were her face appeared in the mirror, as if someone knew her exact height and had rubbed it there for her. Not thinking much more about it, Lily suddenly realized that she had to go to the bathroom rather bad. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed a small white bedpan looking piece of porcelain that lay in the farthest corner of the room. She shrugged, when you had to go you had to go.  
  
Sitting back down on the bed with her hands in her lap, Lily contemplated her situation further. Would she ever get out of this place? Did Jareth know that she was missing yet? How had Kaelin gotten back in the Underground? Would she get a chance to see her father again? Those were just a few of the troubled unanswered questions running around her mind all at once. A loud clanking outside of her door startled Lily out of her reverie and into an alert state of mind. She practically jumped off the bed, and took a defensive to be prepared against whoever opened it. Surprisingly, a little woman walked in and in her hands noticed a tray of more food. The short, homely, middle aged woman walked over to the bedside table and frowned when she noticed the food she had left for the young woman last night still hadn't been eaten. Turning towards Lily after replacing the tray, the old woman had picked up the old tray and said, "What's the matter, my dear, didn't you like the food?" Lily frowned, shook her head no and replied, "No, actually, I never even tried it. Sorry, if I offended you. I just felt too nauseous to eat."  
  
Lifting the tray in a gesture that seemed to say "oh well" the woman walked briskly past Lily and went to the door she had previously locked to make sure the girl didn't escape. "Oh, by the way," the woman said balancing the tray on her hip and unlocking the door at the same, "my name is Mildred. If you need anything just let me know what it is and I will try to provide it. I know Lord Kaelin is fond of you, so you can't be that bad even if you are locked in the tower where only prisoners and murders are kept." A creak and a groan accompanied the door closing as Mildred left the room. Lily shuddered at her newly acquired knowledge. It was Kaelin after all. No matter, she would find a way out of this hellhole somehow. It wasn't like her to give up, she had solved the labyrinth, faced the Goblin King, and a wicked stepmother that had tried to kill her. As she sat back down and looked over the meat and cheeses that Mildred had left this time, Lily pondered just how she was going to carry out her plans.  
  
There was just a spark, a thought barely an idea that gave her inspiration. If Lily could somehow get Kaelin to visit her, she could play off of the fact that he lusted after her. Not really used to playing the bad girl seducer, Lily was a bit troubled as to how she was going to pull this off and make it believable. She couldn't gag like she normally did when she was around him or else it wouldn't work. No, she would have to practice her dialogue, body language, and attitude before she had Mildred bring him to see her. Once she was convinced that he thought that she was interested in him, she would find a way to escape because he would eventually start to trust her more and more. One thing that she was still concerned about, was that what if he wanted her to sleep with him to prove her interest in him? Lily groaned and grabbed her stomach at that thought, she would try not to think about that. Instead, she turned her mind toward Jareth and thought about him and what he might be doing right now.  
  
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	17. Mirror, Mirror, Standing Tall

Hi, no one has been reviewing lately and I guess it's because the few readers that I had stopped reading. Sad isn't it? This chapter is rather long, and for that I apologize. Well, here's chapter17.  
  
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Stars twinkled merrily in the inky blackness that surrounded them in the night sky. Too merrily for Jareth's liking. He had been in a bad mood since the past week when he had found out that he, The Goblin King, was powerless to stop the destruction that was taking place around him. Invaders had entered his father's kingdom two days ago, saying that if he didn't start acting like a ruler than they would forcefully take over, but they didn't say it in a nice way. What's more, Jareth could still use his crystal to watch over Lily, but for some reason every time he looked in on her she was always asleep. Thinking this odd, he hoped she was OK, and not so severely hurt that she was in a coma. Fearing the worst, he put it out of his mind and focused on more constructive efforts, such as swirling around the red wine that filled his golden goblet and made his mind fog over the pain.  
  
The wine made his mind fog and swim so much that Jareth soon felt sleepy and a bit giddy, and decided there was nothing for it except to go to sleep on his satin sheets. Stumbling drunkenly to his bed, he plopped down and rested his head sleepily on a black pillow. Soon his eyelids closed, and sleep over took him.  
  
The next day, Jareth had made a startling discovery when he checked in on Lily. She was not sleeping this time! On the contrary, she was wide-awake and eating something that looked like bread that sat on a table beside the bed she was seated on. Jareth was relieved that they were feeding her and that she was actually awake. Suddenly Lily looked at the spot that his face appeared in the crystal, as if she could see him, and she indeed looked as if she was looking right at him. Jareth knew for some odd reason that she could see him when she unexpectedly exclaimed, "Jareth! Is that you? Oh my goodness, can you hear me?" He saw her stand and get closer to the wall of crystal and looked straight up at him. "Wow, no wonder this spot was rubbed in." Lily was referring to the mirror that was standing by the door, the seemingly normal innocent mirror that may just be her ticket out of this place.  
  
Jareth finally snapped out of his shocked stupor, no one was supposed to be able to see him in his own crystals. "Lily, how exactly is it that you can see me?" Lily shrugged innocently and said, "There's this mirror that had a circle rubbed into the dust and it forms a spot of clear glass. I thought it odd when I first saw it, but it was even more surprising when I saw your face watching me through it. Do you think it's enchanted?" Rubbing his hands across his chin in thought Jareth replied, "Perhaps. But, would Kaelin be so dumb as to put an enchanted mirror in your room? Knowing your history with mirrors and all." Lily had to laugh at that comment. Her stepmother had been obsessed with her own reflection and many mirrors had always occupied all the rooms in their house. Lily could be found gazing intently into them, claiming that she saw thing that they couldn't, but no one believed her, of course, because they themselves couldn't see what she saw.  
  
Colors started to swirl around in Lily's mind to form and take shape of that of a memory. A pale little girl with long curly dark brown hair that tumbled over her shoulders and back, stood on her tiptoes only in her night gown staring seemingly at her own reflection in a mirror. However, in it she was seeing something far more great. The image she was viewing was that of a woman that looked like Lilianna, but a lot older. This was when she realized that she had been looking at her mother and father before she was born. They looked happy, and this saddened her because she wasn't in the world yet, and they had been happy despite this. Feeling jealous, the image started to change and Lily could see a strange looking land, definitely not consistent with the geography of earth.  
  
Startled by this memory that she had forgotten what she had seen, Lily interrupted Jareth while he was speaking. Jareth could see the startled expression on Lily's face and wondered what was wrong. "Jareth, I saw my mother in a mirror when I was younger, and when I felt jealous of her and my father, the image changed and I saw…the underground. When you brought up the subject of mirrors that memory just popped into my head. I have no idea what it's supposed to symbolize, do you?" Lily asked. Thinking about it for a couple of minutes, Jareth spoke quietly, "I think it was because you saw how happy they were together and you wished that you could be that happy with someone, and it showed you the underground because, forgive me for sounding conceited, that's where I live. I think it knew that we were meant to be together."  
  
Still thinking over what Jareth had just said Lily suddenly blurt out, "Do you love me?" Wishing she could take it back because of the indecision on his face, she tried her best to apologize, but he waved it away with a gloved hand. "Yes, I do love you. It took me this long to realize it, but when I found that you were gone that night when Kaelin had kidnapped you, I felt as if my life had no meaning, like I couldn't go on living. My whole world was crashing down around me just because you weren't in it. When I also found out you were the one that had to figure out how to get out on your own, I felt so bad. I wanted to help you, to protect you, and I had failed," Jareth said, a pained expression briefly appearing on his features. Lily replied, "You didn't fail, Jareth. This was obviously meant to happen or else it wouldn't have. I believe we all have a fate, no matter how unfair. Wait, I just now realized what you said, what do you mean you can't get me out of here?" Jareth looked heartbroken, "That's a far cry from 'I love you too'. I visited the Oracle Bane and she said that you had to figure it out on your own. Believe me, I have tried time and time again to get you out of there, but something's blocking my magic. I thought it was a protection spell, and low and behold it was. I didn't think Kaelin would be capable of wielding that kind of power, but apparently he is."  
  
"Wait, remember that day when Kaelin showed up the first time and threatened to kidnap me, what he said when you asked him how he was able to travel into the underground in the first place? He said something about the Dark Lady. Do you think that if we could somehow make her power that's making the protection spell waver or break that you could get me back to the underground?" Jareth thought about it then said, "It's possible that it might just work. I knew there was a reason about than your beauty that I was attracted to you. But, the person responsible is the Black Lady, not the Dark Lady." Lily shrugged and laughed, then said, "Black Lady, Dark Lady, it's all the same to me."  
  
Jareth smiled than said farewell to Lily and made the crystal disappear from sight by the same magic that had made it appear. He leaned back in his throne rubbing his eyes. The Black Lady was a bitter but powerful mage that lived on top of a mountain in a cave. Almost everything about her was black. Her hair, her skin, her eyes, and her clothes were all black. So was her attitude and soul. Jareth stood and walked to his library taking up residence in a remote part of the castle to give him silence. For this confrontation he would have to brush up on his spells and fighting skills.  
  
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Thanks for reading! Please review! If you don't review I won't write anymore chapters! I guess to some people that would be a good thing…d'oh! 


	18. Danger All Around

Chapter 18  
  
  
  
A blood red dress with black lace trimming on the sleeves and collar lied on the bed that Lily was sitting on. She sat with her elbows on her knees, and her hands in fists resting on either side of her face. Mildred had brought the dress for her to change into before she had her first meeting with Kaelin since she had been there. The neckline was rather low, she could tell just from looking at it without putting it on. This made her cringe; Kaelin was a womanizer as it was; now she would be encouraging him to look at her cleavage. Lily shuddered, but decided that she better hurry because Kaelin would be coming up to the room any minute now. Slipping off the white slip she had been wearing since she had gotten there, Lily donned the dress that hugged and accentuated her curves. Feeling slightly repulsed by who she would be wearing it for, she tried in vain to pull the collar up higher on her chest.  
  
Footsteps could be heard on the set of steps leading to the door, and Lily quickly sat down on the bed and grabbed a book, but sat up straight, sticking her chest out deliberately. A key jangled in the lock and turned. The heavy wooden door creaked open slowly, and in walked Kaelin, dressed in a black tunic and black riding pants, and with, of course, black gloves. All the black made him seem more intimidating than he really was. Beneath her brave exterior, Lily was worrying about the role she was about to play. She really didn't have time to think because Kaelin was in front of her in an instance, grabbing the book quickly from her hands before she could protest. Looking up and into his face, Lily could see the pure lust practically emanating from him and permeating his the space around him. This troubled her. He knew nothing about her, yet he still wanted her. It definitely wasn't love that had possessed him to kidnap her; it had to be infatuation. Infatuation could be dangerous, and in her case it could very well become that way.  
  
Lowering his face closer to hers by bending by the waist, he looked intently into her face and asked impatiently, "Why have you called me here?" Lily tried to look sly and demure, but couldn't tell how well she was pulling it off. "I just wanted some company. Being locked in a room without human interaction for months is bound to make one lonely," Lily said provocatively. Kaelin smiled an evil grin and pushed her roughly back on the bed and grabbed her wrists when she tried to push him back so she could sit up. Holding her wrists above her head with his hand that still had all five fingers, Kaelin straddled her waist by putting his knees on either side of her hips. "Let me go!" Lily cried desperately. Kaelin leaned down and put his lips by Lily's ear, his dark hair falling into her face, and whispered, "Now, where would be the fun in that, my dear?" He bit her ear lobe to prove his point. Lily cried out once again in disgust and indignation. This was a far cry from how she hoped the meeting with Kaelin would go. She was supposed to be in control of the situation, not him.  
  
Bringing her knee up into his groin area, Lily was able to get him off of her. Kaelin hit the floor and groaned, grabbing his crotch. Lily flung the door open hurriedly, and pounded frantically down the steps and down to the second door, which had been left open. Thanking her luck, she ran through numerous hallways without meeting any guards as of yet, wondering if she was getting any closer to the outside door. Finally, Lily stopped her running and searching and slowed to stand in front of a door that looked as if it led outside. Upon opening the door to step outside she became disoriented quickly. What lied before her was a sheer drop to the mote below. The wooden drawbridge hadn't been lowered. Taking a step backward so she wouldn't fall in, Lily anxiously searched for a way to bridge the gap. Not seeing one, Lily cursed, imitating one of Jareth's habits, and closed the door.  
  
Turning around to go back the way she had come, sharp metal swords greeted her as they blocked her path, swords that were wielded by at least fifty guards. At the helm of the guards standing off to her left was Kaelin, apparently still in pain from the way he walked. Lily wanted to laugh at him, but knew that under the circumstances, she was in deep enough that pushing him over the edge could be deadly. Stifling her giggle with a hand firmly planted over her mouth, Lily straightened her face into a no nonsense serious expression. Seeing her quiet giggle, Kaelin quickly strode over to her and tried to grab her by the neck. Lily saw what was coming though, and was able to dodge his hand, but no matter which way she turned she was still surrounded on all sides by guards. There was no way out.  
  
Kaelin, seeing that Lily had become more desperate to escape, took advantage of her distraction and went after her. Feeling the floor start to get closer to her, Lily realized too late that someone was tackling her to the ground. She didn't even have to guess who it was. Lying on the hard stone floor with her hands and feet bound, Lily cursed as Kaelin came into view above her. Calling over to one of his guards, he said something that Lily couldn't understand, made a hand gesture that was alien to her, and then left. Slowly, Lily felt herself being picked up and carried down a staircase by one of the guards. Trying desperately to get him to tell him where he was taking her, Lily asked him all sorts of questions. "Why are you working for a creep like Kaelin? Do you even know who I am? No, then I'll tell you. I'm the Snow White." All the time she was ranting and yelling questions at the guard, while he held her firmly in his strong arm and kept a straight face and looked ahead.  
  
They came to the bottom of the stairs, Lily could tell by the way he walked. A dark, dank smelling dungeon awaited their presence. The small, foul smelling room was only resident to mice, ghosts, and numerous skeletons strewn about in various cells. Straw covered the grimy floor, making look as if animals belonged down here, not human beings. Lily shuddered at this thought. Who knew what kind of disease carrying rodents could be lurking about this place? The guard stopped his slow gait and came to stand by a wooden table. He placed Lily on it by plopping her down. "Hey!" Lily cried, as her back came into a sharp, stinging contact with the table.  
  
Shoving her head roughly down on the table, the guard took some kind of rope, and covered Lily's forehead with it, then tied it to the table. Now, she was tied completely to the table, along with her head. "What are you doing? Don't even think about leaving. Get back here!" Lily screamed in vain at the retreating guard's back.  
  
Not knowing how long she had been down there, Lily soon realized it didn't really matter. What did was the fact that she had no idea why in the world she was tied to this infernal table. A creaking noise from above signaled that someone was coming down to the dungeon, and footsteps on the stairs confirmed this. Shortly a very disgruntled looking Kaelin came into Lily's limited line of sight by standing on the end of the table by her feet.  
  
Circling her as a predator does its prey, he began to speak in a slow, menacing voice, "You look scared, Lily. Are you? You should be. I brought you here because I had intended for you to become my wife, but what good is a wife that I can't trust? I'll tell you, no good at all. Then I said to myself, I don't even have to marry the chit. I can just force myself upon her and make her carry my child for nine months. And you know what? The more I thought about it, the more I started to like this plan. See, if I get you pregnant you will bear me a child, and then you will want to stay with me for fear of losing that child. You will deny now that you would leave despite the fact that I had your child, but I know you, Lily, and you would stay to protect it."  
  
All the time he was talking Lily had begun to think happy thoughts in her head to get this sick and humiliating image of what he was describing out of her head. Still he continued to circle her, and still she refused to acknowledge him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response to anything he said. Enjoying her discomfiture, Kaelin walked over to the end of her table that her face was at, and gently raised his hand and starting stroking the side of her silky cheek. Lily wanted more than anything in the world to slap that smug and calculating smile off his face. Gracefully, Kaelin climbed onto the table and positioned himself on top of her in a repeat of earlier on the bed. Placing his hands on either side of her head, he leaned down and tried to kiss her.  
  
Spit flew from the side of her two rosy red lips and onto a shocked and outrage Kaelin. Lily had spit on him at a reflex, even though she really wanted to throw up. Enraged by her action, Kaelin backhanded her hand across the face, making her the other side of her head crash into the table. "You will pay for that you little whore!" Kaelin snarled, and began to unbutton his pants.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Hehe, I know it's a bit of a cliffhanger, but since no one had been reviewing, what can I say. You brought this on yourself. (*evil laughter*) I will only post more when I get reviews! 


	19. Queen of Hearts

Chapter 19  
  
  
  
Bright sunlight danced and created bright rainbows on everything. Lily awoke to the sunlight shining on her and a bed of grass beneath her. Sitting up slowly, Lily took in her surrounding. She was in a bright meadow, green and gold trees surrounding her on all sides. It was beautiful in the afternoon sun, but how in the world had she gotten there? Standing up straight she looked in all four directions. Her last memory was that of Kaelin getting ready to take advantage of her, then nothing. How odd. It seemed that the world kept changing around her every time she fell asleep. A sound from the east could be heard coming closer and Lily crouched down in the tall green grasses to wait and see what was approaching. Through a break in the trees, a caravan of horses waving colorful flags appeared. The sound she had heard was the horse's hooves making contact with the soft ground. Lily stood cautiously. They didn't appear to have an evil intent. Of course, as she had found, she herself was a bad judge of character.  
  
It was too late now one of them had already seen her stand, and the lone horseman had broken away from his group and galloped towards her. The man reigned the horse to a slow gait as he came closer to her. When he was about ten feet away from her the man called out, "You there, who are you?" Lily, seeing no reason not to answer back said, "My name is Lilianna. I'm not sure where I am. Could you tell me?" The large man on the horse said, "You're trespassing, I'm afraid I'll have to take you to the king." The man got off the horse slowly, as he was clad in armor, and walked towards Lily.  
  
The man in the armor took in Lily's appearance and wondered vaguely if she was royalty. The young woman before him was beautiful. The sunlight highlighted her dark hair and made it shine. Her curves were accentuated nicely by the red gown she wore, the red matching the tinge of her full lips. Looking into her large blue eyes framed by thick black lashes, he could tell she meant no harm, and he took her by the arm gently and led her to the horse. After he had helped her up on the horse, he himself mounted it, and they rode back to the retreating caravan.  
  
Lily held onto the man that was seated before her as he guided the horse towards the caravan they were quickly gaining on. As the man finally made it back to his rightful position in the group, many questions arose as to Lily's presence. One particularly big dark man said, "It's about time you got yourself a woman, Geoffrey," mocking following the comment. Apparently Geoffrey didn't like that remark, Lily gathered, because the reply that followed. A woman riding off to Lily's right asked her many questions about herself. The woman appeared to be someone's wife, whose Lily wasn't sure. "What's your name my dear?" "Lilianna, Lily for short." "Where did you come from? And why were you in these woods by yourself?" Lily thought for a moment then said, "I was staying with a friend when I was kidnapped, and when I woke up this was where I was." "How dreadful. Well, I'm Lady Sandra. The man up there," she pointed to a bejeweled finger at a handsome man with brown hair in gray, "he's my husband." Lily nodded in understanding.  
  
What followed was a comfortable silence, only the birds chirping merrily in the tree branches above disturbing it. Lily's curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "Where are we going?" Lady Sandra smiled and replied, "We're going back to the King's castle. You'll get a chance to meet him, he's a good and fair king, and a great deal handsome, too." Lily looked puzzled and said, "Geoffrey said I was trespassing. The king owns all this land?" Lady Sandra threw a threatening look in Geoffrey's direction, and he shrugged. "Just doing my job," he said. Shaking her head in disbelief Lady Sandra said, "You might have been trespassing my dear, but under the circumstances you didn't know where you were. I'm sure the king will take note of this and won't punish you at all. Don't let Geoffrey intimidate you either, he's just a gentle giant at heart." Lily smiled, but in the pit of her stomach she was worried about how this king might pass judgment on her. If someone were trespassing on her land, whether or not they were aware of it, she'd be pretty upset, too.  
  
Fearing the worst, Lily gulped audibly as the village square came into view. It was beautiful and intriguing sight. There were many festivities going on all around her. The procession continued through the village to the huge castle in the near distance. It was a magnificent sight. Made of pale, pearl colored stone, the light flickered and cast rainbows on the buildings around it. Lily smiled, even though she knew she might be in trouble with the king residing inside. The horses all came to a halt at once and Lily dismounted after Geoffrey, taking the hand he offered to help her down. The throng of people in many different bright colors of clothing all entered the castle at once it seemed.  
  
Lily followed Lady Sandra, not knowing her way around. Losing sight of her quickly though, Lily wandered around aimlessly, following large crowds of people, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. Suddenly the masses of people surrounding her started to move away from her, forming a path right before her eyes. The people kept moving away, until they came to the end of the line, the path fully formed, and in front of her was the one person she'd thought she'd never see again!  
  
"Jareth!" Lily cried, emotion overwhelming her. She put her hand to her mouth in disbelief. Jareth smiled, and started walking towards her, the crowd watching the couple before them. Lady Sandra had found Lily and walked over to her and said, "You know the king well enough to call him by his first name?" Lily ignored her though and started to walk towards Jareth to meet him half way. Once he was standing right in front of her, she threw her arms around him, and buried her face in his neck. Jareth hugged her tightly, never wanting to let her go again. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling its fragrant scent.  
  
Pulling back from him to look into his face, she took in his blonde hair falling over into his eyes, and onto his shoulders. His perfectly sculpted face, she took into her hands, and brushed the stray hair from his eyes. "I can't believe it's you," she whispered. Jareth smiled again, and lowered his face to hers and pressed his thin lips firmly to her full ones. Lily smiled against his lips and put her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. Jareth, realizing where he was and what he was doing, reluctantly pulled away. Groaning, Lily felt him pull away, and wondered why until she looked up to see all the people in the shining room looking at them curiously. Lily blushed, and Jareth pulled her closer.  
  
"Ladies and gentleman, meet your queen, Lady Lily," Jareth announced proudly. Lily turned her face up to his and looked at him open mouthed in astonishment. "Queen?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
*~~~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~~~*  
  
Thanks for reading! Please review! If you don't I won't post any more! Don't make me do it! Just kidding. I love you all, be good. 


	20. Explanations and Disappointment

Chapter 20  
  
  
  
"Ladies and gentleman, meet your queen, Lady Lily," Jareth announced proudly. Lily turned her face up to his and looked at him open mouthed in astonishment. "Queen?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
Disappointment flashed over Jareth's face briefly and he said, "Don't you want to be my queen?" Lily took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly and replied, "Of course, it's just that I had expected a different way of asking I suppose." After they had made their way through the bustling and whispering throng of an assortment of people and creatures, as Lily had observed, Jareth led her over to his throne, with a smaller more feminine throne sitting next to it. Sitting down on his throne, Jareth gestured for her to do the same. Instead of sitting down right away, Lily took a moment longer to look at the throne. It was as if sitting in that throne would seal the deal forever that she would be queen. Whether or not it was true didn't matter, it just felt that way. Reluctantly she sat down on it slowly. The cheer started out as a whispered gasp, but then it went up as a roar, tearing out of people's throats, indicating that they were happy Lily was going to be their new queen.  
  
Tears ran down Lily's cheeks at this unexpected praise, never before had she felt like she belonged somewhere. Looking over at Jareth she saw that he too, was cheering, and he laughed at the startled expression on her face. Here she was, just a girl in a little red dress, being coronated to the most honorable position possible. Lily's heart soared, she had never been this happy before. Just when she thought the world was out to get her, it took an unexpected turn in the right direction for once. Jareth stood and announced, "I'm sorry, but your new queen is tired, and the festivities will have to wait till the morrow. In the meanwhile, please stay and eat your fill. Thank you all for coming." Taking Jareth's offered arm; Lily stood and walked with him back to her room, her new room, she supposed, as it looked like a different part of the castle.  
  
"Can I ask you something?" Lily said. Jareth nodded, "Of course." "What does being queen mean?" Jareth stopped outside a wooden door gilded in gold, a rather large door, and leaned against it casually. "It means that you have say in whatever laws or actions I take in ruling. You also own half of everything that I own. Why, is there something I'm missing?" Lily shrugged and said, "No, I guess that covers everything. Is this my new room?" Lily gestured to the door as she spoke. Jareth nodded yes, "I didn't think your old room was fitting for a queen." Reaching out a hand, Lily turned the golden knob and pushed the door open to reveal a huge bedroom.  
  
Walking inside, eyes wide in awe, Lily took in the room. A large bed was in the center, the cream colored sheets perfectly made. The bed itself resembled mahogany wood. A large closet was directly across from the door to the room, and beside the closet to the right was a huge vanity, filled with make-ups and perfumes. To the left of the bed was a bookshelf, one with books this time. The floor was covered in a plush peach colored carpet, soft and smooth to the feet. Beside the bookshelf in between the door to the room, was another door that had a real bathroom. She hadn't seen one in a while. Just looking at one gave her great comfort. Jareth watched her the whole time, taking in the way she examined everything and inspected everything with her eyes and mouth open in astonishment all the while.  
  
Lily spun around and said, "Thank you, Jareth, it's beautiful." Smiling, eyes dancing with mirth, Jareth replied, "I'm glad you like it. If you need anything my room is right next door. Good night." With those parting words he shut the door, leaving Lily alone in her room fit for a queen. Being slightly dirty still from not having bathed in a while, Lily decided that that was her first order of business as queen.  
  
After her bath, feeling refreshed in a nice smelling nightgown, Lily pulled back the sheets to her bed, and dreamily laid her head on her soft feather pillows, falling asleep almost before her head even touched them.  
  
Knocking on the door awoke Lily, and she rubbed the sleep from her still blurry eyes. "I'm coming," she called half-asleep, pulling on a robe. Standing outside her door was Lady Sandra, who practically pushed herself in before Lily could protest. "What exactly is going on here. One minute you're just some woman that our caravan picked up, and the next you're queen. I think I deserve an explanation." Lily gestured for Sandra to sit in one of the two chairs next to her bed, seating herself in the other. "I was here before, this is the place I was staying before I was kidnapped. Jareth and I, well, we have a relationship. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it." Sandra, still not believing Lily's story said, "But you're from earth. How did you get here the first time?" "How do you know I'm from earth?" Sandra smiled a little smile and said, "It's obvious. You don't act like someone with magic." "I don't know how I got here the first time. I just woke up and started walking until I came upon the labyrinth. I went through it to get to the castle. I didn't know anything about this place until I met Jareth," Lily explained.  
  
"When you said that you two have a relationship, what did you mean," Sandra asked slyly. "We care about each other. That's all," Lily lied. Nodding, Sandra stood and said, "Sorry I bothered you, I just couldn't wait any longer to ask you all these questions. I'll see myself out." Lily sighed deeply and fell back on her bed once Sandra was gone. Once she had gotten dressed in a deep scarlet dress, one fit for a queen of course, another knock on the door summoned her. This time standing outside was a goblin dressed as a messenger. "The king says that he requests your presence at breakfast. I am to escort you there, your highness." Lily rolled her eyes, and followed the little fidgety goblin. "Oh the joys of being queen," Lily mumbled under her breath.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Thanks for reading! Please review! 


	21. Once Bitten

(*Athor's Note: I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. I guess it depends on the number of reviews I get. No one is really reading this anyway, but that's ok. I like reading my own stories.*)  
  
  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Sitting around the large rectangular dining table with Jareth at the head were many different people, some Lily had never seen before. They all stood up once she set foot in the room. Walking over to her spot next to Jareth, Lily noticed that Lady Sandra wasn't at the table. Once she was seated, everyone sat back down. Lily thought this odd, but supposed she'd get used to it. Breakfast was huge, there were all sorts of good smelling and even better tasting foods. Unfortunately, Lily wasn't that hungry. Jareth must've noticed that she hadn't eaten that much because he leaned over and asked, "Is the food not to your liking?" "Oh no, everything is perfect. I'm just not very hungry. I think I'm going to go for a walk," Lily said. When she stood everyone at the table stood. But if she wasn't going to sit down again, when would they sit down? she wondered.  
  
Sunlight poured over the garden generously shining down on everything. The garden that had once been overrun and barren was now bright and luscious. Fragrant flowers with bright blooms surrounded everything. Many benches, stone walkways and archways, and fountains were spread about. Enjoying herself immensely, Lily sat down to watch an orange and black butterfly resting on a lilac across from her. Hearing footsteps on the stone walkway behind her, Lily looked over her shoulder to see Jareth.  
  
He walked around the bench and sat down next to her. Silence engulfed them, unbearably to Lily, and she said, "I'm glad you came out here because I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't think talking about it during breakfast was the right time." Jareth looked over at her, a frown creasing his brow in concern. "Is something wrong?" "Everything's fine, it's just that, I thought you'd be happy to see me once I got back. I don't mean to sound selfish. I know that you have a kingdom to run and all. I'm just confused at the moment. I don't even know how I got free from Kaelin," Lily said, frustrated. Understanding her turmoil, Jareth took her hand, and made her look at him. "I'm so glad that you are back. You're right, I should've explained things to you earlier. I got you out of Kaelin's kingdom, but I could only get you so far. I am very limited when it comes to dueling with the Black Lady. I wanted to bring you back to the castle right away, but she was just too powerful. And I wasn't completely honest with you when I told you what being a queen means. I wanted you to be my queen not only to help me rule, but to love me in return as I love you," the last part he explained quietly.  
  
At this point, Lily felt like kicking herself. Here, she had been worried that he didn't care about her anymore, but it was just the opposite. He had been trying to think of a way to explain his feelings for her. "I'm sorry, Jareth. I didn't know. I want to love you; it's just every time I get close to someone by some sick twist of fate they end up dying. I mean, think about it. My mother, my father, my fiancé, the dwarves that helped me, and all the servants in my father's house that I cared about have all died," Lily said helplessly. Wrapping his arms about her protectively and resting his chin atop her head, Jareth said, "If loving you means that I have to die, that's a risk that I'm willing to take." Lily turned her face up to look at him, tears running down her cheeks in gratitude. "Thank you, Jareth," she whispered through the salty tears.  
  
The peace of the moment was broken when a small clumsy goblin came running awkwardly in a suit of armor too big for his willowy frame. Zigzagging his way to Jareth and Lily, he bowed and unrolled a yellowed piece of parchment. "Your royal highnesses, a message has just been delivered that states as follows, "To his Royal Highness, King Jareth of the Goblins:  
  
If you see fit to keep ignoring our requests that you return your mortal pet back aboveground, we will forcefully do it for you. It's against the laws to have a mortal in an immortal world. You know this, and I will not ask again.  
  
Regards,  
  
Lord Rotavele, Overseer  
  
The little goblin bowed hastily and hurried away at seeing the cold expression that passed over Jareth's face. Lily had long since stopped smiling, and a deep sense of dread settled firmly in the pit of her stomach. "Jareth, what does this mean?" Lily asked fearfully. Sighing in pain, Jareth whispered, "It means that either I send you back aboveground, or the overseer will. I'm afraid there's no way around it. Here, after all we went through, they want to make me throw it all away. Any ideas?" Shrugging, Lily said, "This is all so hopeless. Maybe we just aren't meant to be together after all. I want you to know that if you do send me back aboveground I won't hold it against you. I'll miss you, but I wouldn't want you to get into trouble by keeping me here." Pulling her tighter, Jareth thought deeply about what he might have to do. Lily snuggled closer to his chest, taking him in, just in case she never had this moment again. No, she wouldn't cry, she would be strong. Not being able to hold it back any longer, the unwanted tears started to fall and slide down her cheeks.  
  
Standing, and pulling away from him abruptly, she looked at his pained face, and hurried back to her room. Her heart was breaking and she couldn't bear to put it back together in front of him. Stepping into the castle, she passed the throne room, the main hall, and almost the dining room. Almost passed by because something in the gloomy room had caught her eye. Lily turned and walked back towards the dining room and peered cautiously in the room. The dark splintered wood of the table contrasted sharply against the lone bright red apple sitting on the table. Looking around, Lily saw no one else occupied the room.  
  
Apples were one of Lily's favorite foods, and she couldn't resist. Picking up the apple, she looked at it from all angles, watching how the light sparkled and played on the smooth red surface. She raised her arm higher and brought the apple to rest against her lips. Both of her perfect red lips opened to bite into the delicious fruit. Biting into the apple greedily, she chewed slowly, savoring the rich flavor. How funny it was, her favorite thing in the world had now managed to harm her twice. Coughing violently she tried in vain to dislodge the chunk of apple that had caught in her throat. She gasped for breath, but it was too late. Her bright blue eyes clouded over from lack of oxygen, lips turning blue, and eyes closed slowly afterward. Lily fell to the floor, her world turning black around her. The apple fell from her limp outstretched hand, and rolled across the floor.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Thanks for reading! Please review! If anyone is still reading this, please let me know because that's how I decide if I should keep going or not. The next fanfic I write will definitely have Sarah in it because no one is reading crossovers. Sorry, I guess I'm just discouraged right now. 


	22. Wicked Stepmothers Don't Always Die

Hello, this chapter is sorta short, I know. I have a world history project to work on so the fic had to take the back seat for a while, sorry.  
  
Chapter 22  
  
  
  
The blackness around her began to shift, and then fade into colors. Startled by this sudden change in scenery, Lily bolted upright in the bed she had been lying in. Sitting up straight, her back resting against the headboard, she looked around and realized that she wasn't in her own room.  
  
The style of this room indicated that she must still be in Jareth's castle, obviously in a male's room judging by the decor. It was a comfort knowing that for once when she woke up the world hadn't suddenly changed around her. Removing the blankets from her body, she stood, and then stretched by reaching her hands far above her head towards the ceiling. The grandfather clock to her right indicated that it was 3 p.m. here. Still not knowing whose room she was in, Lily opened the door, and stepped out into the adjoining hallway.  
  
Once she examined both doors on the left and right of the room, she came to realize that the door to the left of the room she had woken up in was the door to her room. That's when she realized it was Jareth's room she had occupied previously. Why would he bring her to his room, and not her own? Not wanting to think further on the matter, she turned to see Jareth watching her intently, his head cocked to one side in a questioning manner. "Why are you out of bed?" he asked. Lily shrugged, one of her favorite gestures, and said, "I wasn't sure where I was. How did I end up in your room anyway?"  
  
Jareth looked embarrassed for a moment. "I just panicked when I saw you lying on the floor not breathing. Once I managed to get the piece of apple out of your throat and remove the poison from your body…" "Poison!" Lily exclaimed, surprised. "Who would want to poison me?" Seeing her agitation, Jareth walked over to her and embraced her, wanting to take away her pain. "Was it really so bad waking up in my room," Jareth purred playfully.  
  
"Jareth, I hate to break the mood and all, but what about that Rotavele character. Do you think that maybe he or someone he hired put the apple there?" Lily asked meekly. Brows knitting together in thought, Jareth said, "It's not like Rotavele to play dirty. I don't think he'd kill you to get you to leave. For now I suggest that we not trust anyone entirely, only each other. I believe that will be the best way of spotting our enemies." Lily nodded her head in agreement. Right now she felt so paranoid, she was willing to believe that everyone, except Jareth, was her enemy.  
  
"I'm sorry to bring this up, Jareth. But, do you think that maybe it could've been Kaelin?" "No, absolutely not. He's dead and buried in the cold ground. Normally I would suspect the Black Lady, but I made sure that she wouldn't be much of a problem again." Thinking aloud Lily said, "You know, no one really saw my stepmother die in the fire that supposedly killed her. She knew how to trick me; she used the same way before. Whose to says she wouldn't try it again? If she really is back, Jareth, then the underground is in danger."  
  
Jareth stiffened against her at that last comment. "What do you mean, Lily?" "I mean," Lily sighed, and bit her lip momentarily, "I mean she will kill whoever she has to in order to get to me. Even if it means all the inhabitants here. Wait," Lily said, an idea forming. "Let's go aboveground. I know you don't like it up there, but it may be the only way to get my stepmother away from the underground, and it would also get Rotavele off our back's for a while. What do you say?" Not really wanting to go, Jareth almost started to protest, but the look of hope on her face deterred him, and he kissed her on the forehead. "All right, aboveground, here we come."  
  
~*!&$&#$%&#$  
  
Thanks for reading! Please review. Sorry this fic is so long, I had hoped to keep it short and simple, but it has a mind of it's own. Let me know if you think it should end soon, and it will. 


	23. Ghosts

Hi, I'd just like to thank the people that have been reviewing. I really appreciate it. I don't know when I will be able to get the next chapter out as I am currently swamped in school projects. If anyone has an idea for a health project, let me know. Thanks!  
  
  
  
Chapter 23  
  
  
  
"And this is the main bedroom, here," the little heavyset maid said merrily. Jareth and Lily had made it aboveground without incident. Now, they were examining a large house, almost a mansion, with the butlers and maids already living there, ready to work for the owner's of the house.  
  
Lily wasn't too fond of the place; it reminded her too much of the house that she had grown up in. Once, her father had told her that no matter what, a home wasn't the structure you lived in, but the people you shared it with. At this moment, Lily took that to heart, and decided that she would agree with whatever Jareth decided. "And, this, over here, is the bathing room. It's nice and large, don't you think dears?" Jareth smiled and squeezed Lily's delicate hand in his gloved one, but Lily just nodded, as her thoughts were elsewhere.  
  
After the tour of the house, Lily had come upon a room that had grabbed her attention from the start. Making sure that Jareth was thoroughly occupied with his tour of the stables, she followed the mental map she had made of the place to make sure that she could find this particular room. There was nothing about it out of the ordinary. It was just an average bedroom, a bed in the middle of the room, a wardrobe, a vanity and mirror, and a large window to the right of the bed. Besides the dust, everything seemed to be perfectly in place.  
  
It was if the people living here had just disappeared. Lily shivered, and wrapped her arms about herself to keep warm. Something, something about this place, she wasn't sure quite what, was wrong. The house almost seemed to be hollow, a mere shell of its former self. The people that worked here, the servants, all seemed too mechanically polite that it was unsettling.  
  
A noise, beginning so suddenly that Lily wasn't sure if it had been there all along and she had just now heard it broke the silence. Looking in all directions, Lily tried to determine which direction it was coming from. It sounded like someone moaning, someone in pain, being tortured. Strange enough, it sounded like it was coming from below the ground. A thought appeared in her head that it could be a ghost, but she talked herself out of that idea.  
  
She was fairly sure that if it were a ghost, it wouldn't be coming from below the ground. That was, unless, there was a dungeon down there that the maid hadn't included in the tour. Lily rationalized that maybe she should wait till Jareth got back to see what it was. It wasn't that she was scared of whatever was down there. It was the underground part that had chilled her. She had been buried alive once, a piece of apple lodged in her throat, blocking her airway. Since then, she avoided cellars and dungeons, except the time she was being held captive by Kaelin. But, that was different, that time she didn't have any say in the matter. This time she did.  
  
Looking around the room one more time to make sure there was nothing she had missed, she walked back to the door and closed it. As she walked down the hallway to the sitting room Jareth was going to meet her in, the strange moaning, haunting sound continued. Walking a little faster, as it started to get darker; she hurried to the room. The room had no door; it was just an open space off the hallway with a fireplace and sitting chairs.  
  
His blonde hair fell into his eyes as he poured over the book in front of him; his features were shadowy in the light from the fireplace. Lily leaned against the wall, observing Jareth while he read. He must've felt someone watching him because after a while he looked up and looked right into her eyes from across the room. "Find anything interesting?" he asked. "Do you mean about the house or about you?" Lily teased. Jareth laughed and patted the spot beside him, beckoning her to sit down. As she sat down, she asked, "What book are you reading?"  
  
Jareth looked a bit embarrassed for a moment than stated, "Snow White." Lily had to laugh at that one. "Where'd you get it?" "I brought it with me from the underground. I had a confident find it for me," Jareth explained. "What's it about?" Lily said, smiling mischievously. Leaning closer to her, he whispered conspiratorially, "It's about this young girl…"  
  
"Woman," Lily corrected. "…Woman. Her mother dies when she's just a baby, and her father remarries this evil witch of a woman that tries to kill her just because she's jealous. But, the young woman prevails and escapes, and befriends seven dwarves. These dwarves help her by hiding her from her stepmother. But, her stepmother finds her, as all evil stepmothers have a way of doing, and gave her a shiny red apple. Of course, this young woman wasn't dumb…" "Of course not…" Lily chimed in.  
  
"And the stepmother had on a disguise that made her want to accept the apple. The apple was poisonous, becoming lodged in her throat. Being mistaken for dead, the young woman was buried in the ground…" "Jareth, do you think that maybe you could not finish the rest of the story. It gets pretty gruesome, and I know what happens so there's no point in telling me." "I'll tell you the ending," Jareth continued, "the young woman meets me and we live happily ever after. The end."  
  
Lily smiled gratefully at his improvisation of the rest of the story. "Don't make me pull out my copy of the Labyrinth," Lily threatened jokingly. (*A.N. I don't know if Labyrinth was written during this time period, but just pretend it was for now. *)  
  
Just now Lily remembered that she was going to ask Jareth if he had heard the noise she had heard earlier, as now was a good time since there were no servants around. "Jareth, when you came in from the stables, did you hear anything?" Lily asked. Jareth's brows furrowed together in puzzlement and he replied, "No, why?" "Just curious," Lily shot back too quickly. "Lily, tell me what happened," Jareth demanded, reminding Lily again that he was a king.  
  
Swallowing the lump in her throat Lily said, "I don't like it when you do that Jareth. I know you're a king, but you said I was queen and that we were equals. I don't think it's fair that you have all the power over me." (*A.N. Get it, power over me. Hehe. ;) *) Frowning, then sighing heavily, Jareth took Lily trembling hand. "Why are you shaking?" Lily withdrew her hand as if she had been burned and said, "I'm not."  
  
Throwing a look at her that clearly stated, I don't believe you, Jareth took her hand again. "I'm sorry I was short with you. It's hard to shake habits once you've had them for so long. Tell me what happened while I was in the stables." Lily looked reluctant to tell him, thinking that he would think her crazy. But, she thought better of it. "I heard a noise in this room that seemed so familiar. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why it was familiar. This whole house, the people they all seem, like, well, like ghosts."  
  
Suddenly, Lily finally put two and two together. "Just because this house reminds you of the one that you grew up in doesn't mean…" Jareth started to say, but Lily interrupted him. "We've got to get out of here. I finally figured it out; this whole place is a trap. Come on Jareth!" Lily said, jumping to her feet, ready to dash out the front door. "Now wait a minute," Jareth said, the voice of reason, "just because you heard a noise doesn't mean we're in any danger. It might've been the wind, this is an old house after all…"  
  
"No, Jareth, you don't understand!" Lily cried urgently. "This house isn't supposed to exist! It's THE house I grew up in. Don't you see? It burned down. That's why it seems so familiar! What made you decide that you wanted to move here in the first?" Jareth was going to answer, then stopped himself. "See, you don't even know what it was. It has to be a trap, let's get out of here," Lily said, panic setting in.  
  
"That's right, dear, I brought the house back to life," a shaky, yet dark voice said from the shadows. Stepping into the light produced by the fireplace was the last person Lily had ever wanted to see again. "You can't be real! You're dead!" Lily cried in absolute terror. "No, you see, that's the thing. Evil stepmothers never die. Don't you read the stories? We always get revenge. Now, it's my turn," the brown skinned almost black charred thing that had once been a beautiful woman said sinisterly. How very much her stepmother looked like a monster at that moment. Her body was thin and bony; her skin was lifeless, as was her eyes. Her hair was almost gone save for the few remaining strands hanging to the flaky scalp uselessly.  
  
Jareth stepped in between Lily and the monster trying to harm her. "Jareth, get out of the way," Lily demanded shakily. "No, Lily. I know you feel like you have to face her down. Just say the words and I can make her die, permanently this time."  
  
"No, Jareth, not yet. I need to know where my father is, and I think I have idea. Those that I heard had to be him. But, I don't know how to get to where she's keeping him. Will you watch her while I try to find a way to save him?" Jareth not taking his eyes off the sickening creature before him said, "You know I will. But, hurry, and Lily," she stopped and turned, "be careful," he said. Lily nodded, and hurried down the stairs to the main foyer. Running from room to room, feeling as if her time was running out, she searched desperately for a staircase leading down.  
  
Feeling frustrated and badly in need of a rest, she leaned against one of the walls. It gave from behind her, and Lily fell into the secret passageway.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Thanks for reading! Please review! It makes me feel so encouraged! 


	24. Revelations and Endings

Chapter 24  
  
  
  
Brushing the dust and dirt from her dress, Lily stood and then rubbed her sore behind. Luck was definitely with her this time. Not thinking about it too much more, Lily kept going further down the dark passage. It seemed as if the floor was sloping downwards. The further she went, the darker it seemed to get, too.  
  
This led Lily to believe that it was underground where she would find what was hopefully her father. An overhang that Lily couldn't see because it was so dark hung down from the low ceiling, and she banged her head on it. Pain flared through her forehead instantly, bright flashes of light appearing before her eyes. "Ouch!" Lily cried. Placing her hand where the wall had struck her, Lily could feel the bump already starting to form. The darkness around her started to dissipate slowly, so slowly she didn't even notice that it was getting lighter around her until she came upon an opening that she could actually see.  
  
It led downwards, which wasn't surprising. The farther down she went the more lighter it got. Once she was at the bottom, what she saw made her gasp in surprise and guilt, and horror. It was her father! But, he looked so badly that she felt like her heart was being torn from her chest. He was tied to a pole, bruises and scars marring his once handsome features. Burn marks from the ropes binding him stood out against the paleness of his skin. The skin that he did have hung on him because he was so bony, the rags he wore barely hid that fact. Not only was he dirty, but also he reeked of his own urine.  
  
Slowly and cautiously, Lily walked over to him, and bent down. His yellowish eyelids were closed over his sunken in eyes. "Father, can you hear me?" Lily asked in a choked whisper. Under his eyelids she could see his eyes moving, and without opening them, he responded weakly in a hoarse whisper. "So, this is how I die. Take me to heaven with you daughter. I can no longer take this torture." Wanting to cry and hug him, but knowing that she had to get him out of here first Lily said, "I'm not dead father. Open your eyes and look at me." His eyes opened, and Lily could see the hope in his face for a moment, then it faded, a ghost in itself.  
  
"Lily, is it really you?" he asked. "Yes, father, it's really me. I'm not dead, no matter what she told you. I'm here to help you," Lily said, moving around him so she could untie his wrists and ankles. "Lily, I'm so sorry that I married her. I never meant to…" "I know father, save your strength, you're going to need it. The time for talking is later." Once she had the ropes untied, she put her arm around his waist to support him, which wasn't hard because he weighed nothing. The walk uphill back to the room she had entered the passageway from seemed to take hours. At one point she had to practically carry her father when his sore and unused legs gave out from underneath him.  
  
Finally, they made it back to the room, Lily dragging her half-conscious father across the room. Slowly she made it to the front door to the house and called up the stairs to Jareth, "Jareth! I've got my father! Let's get out of here!" Jareth, making sure her stepmother was bound tightly, not by ropes but by a binding spell yelled back, "I'll be there in a minute. Don't wait for me!" Lily did as she was told and flung the door open and ran about two yards and then stopped. She turned to face the house, her eyes on the front door. Come on, Jareth, what's taking so long? she thought.  
  
The front door opened and Lily watched as Jareth came running out. Not knowing what he intended to do from there, she waited for him to catch up to her. It didn't take him long, and he was standing in front of her now. The sky overhead started to darken, and a chill in the air swooped down upon them. Jareth conjured a crystal and heaved it at the house. It connected with the roof and then burst into flames. Once the roof caught on fire it didn't take long for the rest of the house to ignite. The orange and yellow glow reflected off all three of their weary faces waiting for the nightmare to end.  
  
Screams could be heard from all around the house, the people…ghosts, Lily corrected herself, dying as they once had before. It was only right that they be put to rest for good this time. A black shape resembling smoke rose from the rooftop and into the sky, it kept going till they could no longer see it anymore. Wanting to cross herself, but she couldn't because she was still supporting her father, Lily said a prayer to her God that her stepmother may finally find whatever peace she had been searching for. It had been her stepmother's black aura that had risen into the gray storm cloud filled sky. Jareth put his arm around her father, helping Lily to keep him upright. Lily looked over at him, a tear in her eye. Jareth looked up at the sky as a snowflake fell, and then more. "Look, Lily, it's snowing. Lily looked up at the sky; the same sky Jareth was looking at as the cold of the little snowflakes fell upon her heated skin and cooled her.  
  
Slowly she lowered her head from looking at the sky and over at Jareth, and found that he was looking at her. She smiled, and he smiled back, the snow falling around them serenely. Her home had just burned to the ground and here she was smiling. But, that didn't matter to Lily. A home, as her father had taught her, was the people you shared it with. Now she knew what he had meant by saying this, really understood it.  
  
No matter where she went and what she did, home would always be wherever Jareth was.  
  
The End  
  
  
  
Full of Grace  
  
The winter here's cold, and bitter  
  
It's chilled us to the bone  
  
We haven't seen the sun for weeks  
  
Too long too far from home  
  
I feel just like I'm sinking  
  
And I claw for solid ground  
  
I'm pulled down by the undertow  
  
I never thought I could feel so low  
  
Oh darkness I feel like letting go  
  
If all of the strength and all of the courage  
  
Come and lift me from this place  
  
I know I could love you much better than this  
  
Full of grace  
  
Full of grace  
  
My love  
  
So it's better this way, I said  
  
Having seen this place before  
  
Where everything we said and did  
  
Hurts us all the more  
  
Its just that we stayed, too long  
  
in the same old sickly skin  
  
I'm pulled down by the undertow  
  
I never thought I could feel so low  
  
Oh darkness I feel like letting go  
  
If all of the strength  
  
And all of the courage  
  
Come and lift me from this place  
  
I know I could love you much better than this  
  
Full of grace  
  
Full of grace  
  
My love.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
I can't believe I finished it already! It went by so fast. I want to thank everyone who read this and who reviewed. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you. Tell me what you thought of the ending by reviewing please! 


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